-NRLF 


664 


U5 


LIBRARY 

JNIVERSfTY  OF 

CALIFORNIA 
SANTA  CRUZ 


SANTA     CRUZ 


Gift  of 
MARION    R.    WALKER 

in  memory  of  his  grandfather 
THE  HON.  MARION  CANNON  ; 
M.C.  1892-94  i 


H 

PC 
m 


SANTA     CRUZ 


m 


WQ  Q.Q.O ACQ 


U.   S» 


MEMORIAL  ADDRESSES 


LIFE  AND   CHARACTER 


WILLIAM  MUTCHLER, 

A  REPRESENTATIVE  FROM  PENNSYLVANIA, 


DELIVERED    IN    THE 


HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  AND  IN  THE  SENATE, 


FIFTY-THIRD  CONGRESS,  FIRST  SESSION. 


PUBLISHED    BY   ORDER   OF   CONGRESS. 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT    PRINTING    OFFICE. 
1893. 


Resolved  by  the  House  of  Representative*  (the  Senate  concurring),  That  there 
be  printed,  of  the  eulogies  delivered  in  Congress  upon  the  Hon.  WILLIAM 
MUTCHLER,  late  a  Representative  from  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  eight 
thousand  copies,  of  which  number  two  thousand  copies  shall  be  delivered 
to  the  Senators  and  Representatives  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  which 
shall  include  fifty  copies  to  be  bound  in  full  morocco  to  be  delivered  to 
the  family  of  the  deceased;  and  of  those  remaining  two  thousand  shall  be 
for  the  use  of  the  Senate,  and  four  thousand  for  the  use  of  the  House  of 
Representatives ;  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  is  directed  to  have 
engraved  and  printed  a  portrait  of  the  said  WILLIAM  MUTCHLKR  to  accom- 
pany the  said  eulogies. 

Agreed  to  in  the  House  of  Representatives  December  11,  1893. 

Agreed  to  in  the  Senate  January  3,  1894. 
2 


CONTENTS. 


E 

664 
N197 

US' 


HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES. 

Page. 

Announcement  of  death 5 

Address  of — 

Mr.  Breckinridge,  of  Arkansas 18 

Mr.  Breckiuridge,  of  Kentucky 46 

Mr.  Biugham 21 

Mr.  Brosius .- 29 

Mr.  Dockery 28 

Mr.  Erdman 44 

Mr.  Holman 41 

Mr.  McAleer 37 

Mr.  Reilly 8 

Mr.  Sayers 34 

Mr.  Springer *. 24 

Mr.  Charles  W.  Stone 15 

Mr.  Wilson,  of  West  Virginia 32 

Mr.  Wolverton 39 

SENATE. 

Announcement  of  death 53 

Address  of — 

Mr.  Hansbrough 63 

Mr.  Mitchell 60 

Mr.  Quay 56 

Funeral  sermon  by  Rev.  Mayne 67 

Resolutions  and  addresses  of  the  Northampton  County  Bar 73 

3 


PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES. 


ANNOUNCEMENT  OF  DEATH. 


AUGUST  8,  1893. 

Mr.  REILLY,  of  Pennsylvania:  Mr.  Speaker,  since  the 
adjournment  of  the  House,  a  few  short  months  ago,  Death  in 
his  inexorable  tyranny  has  laid  claim  to  one  of  the  most  hon- 
ored and  faithful  members  of  this  body,  and  it  becomes  my 
painful  duty  to  formally  announce  to  the  House  the  death  of 
our  late  lamented  colleague,  Hon.  WILLIAM  MUTCHLER,  a 
Eepresentative  in  this  House  for  many  years  from  the  State 
of  Pennsylvania. 

In  doing  so  it  is  not  my  purpose  or  that  of  his  colleagues  at 
this  time  to  indulge  in  any  eulogy  on  his  life,  his  valuable 
services,  and  his  high  character,  but  we  propose  to  ask  the 
House  at  an  early  day  to  lay  aside  its  public  business  and  pay 
such  tribute  to  his  life  and  character  as  his  memory  deserves. 

On  the  23d  of  June  last,  at  his  home  in  the  city  of  Easton, 
surrounded  by  his  beloved  family,  his  spirit  passed  away. 

Pennsylvania,  that  great  Commonwealth  which  he  so  much 
honored  and  so  long  and  ably  served,  has  in  his  death,  as  has 
his  country  at  large,  suffered  a  great,  irreparable  loss.  I  think 
I  may  say  that  there  never  has  been  shown  by  the  services  of 
a  member  of  this  House  any  higher  degree  of  zeal,  fidelity,  and. 
ability  in  the  discharge  of  duty  than  characterized  the  life  and 
services  of  Mr.  MUTCHLER  on  this  floor. 

5 


6    •        Proceedings  in  the  House  of  Representatives. 

.  He  was  esteemed  and  respected  by  all,  and  I  think  I  may 
safely  say  and  echo  the  sentiments  of  his  fellow  members,  that 
he  bore  that  highest  test  of  manhood,  "  that  he  who  knew  him 
best  loved  him  most." 

I  now  offer  the  resolutions  which  I  send  to  the  Clerk's  desk. 

The  Clerk  read  as  follows : 

Resolved,  That  the  House  has  heard  with  deep  regret  and 
profound  sorrow  of  the  death  of  Hon.  WILLIAM  MUTCHLER, 
late  a  Kepresentative  from  the  State  of  Pennsylvania. 

Resolved,  That  the  Clerk  be  directed  to  communicate  a  copy 
of  these  resolutions  to  the  Senate,  and  send  a  duly  attested 
copy  to  the  widow  of  the  deceased. 

Resolved,  That  as  a  further  mark  of  respect  to  our  deceased 
colleague  the  House  do  now  adjourn. 

The  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted  5  and  accordingly 
(at  4  o'clock  and  30  minutes  p.  m.)  the  House  adjourned  until 
Thursday  next,  at  12  o'clock  m. 


EULOGIES. 


OCTOBER  19,  1893. 

The  SPEAKER  pro  tempore  (Mr.  O'NEIL,  of  Massachusetts). 
The  Clerk  will  report  the  special  order. 
The  Clerk  read  as  follows : 

Resolved,  That  Thursday,  October  19,  1893,  at  2  o'clock  p. 
m.,  be  fixed  as  the  time  for  paying  appropriate  honor  to  the 
memory  of  Hon.  WILLIAM  MUTCHLER,  late  a  Bepresentative 
from  the  State  of  Pennsylvania. 

Mr.  EEILLY.     Mr.  Speaker,  I  offer  the  resolutions  that  I 
send  to  the  desk. 
The  resolutions  were  read,'  as  follows : 

Resolved,  That  the  House  has  heard  with  profound  sorrow 
the  announcement  of  the  death  of  Hon.  WILLIAM  MUTCHLER, 
late  a  Eepresentative  from  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
tender  to  his  family  assurances  of  sympathy  in  their  sad  be- 
reavement. 

Resolved,  That  the  business  of  the  House  be  suspended 
that  opportunity  may  be  given  for  fitting  tribute  to  the  mem- 
ory of  our  deceased  colleague  and  to  his  eminent  public  and 
private  virtues  and  great  public  services. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  transmitted 
to  the  Senate,  and,  as  a  further  mark  of  respect,  that  upon 
the  conclusion  of  these  ceremonies  the  House  shall  adjourn. 


8          Address  o/,Mr.  Reilly,  of  Pennsylvania,  on  the 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  REILLY,  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 

Mr.  SPEAKER:  WILLIAM  MUTCHLER,  a  Kepresentative  in 
Congress  from  the  Eighth  district  of  Pennsylvania  during 
several  terms,  departed  this  life  at  his  residence  in  the  bor- 
ough of  Easton,  Pa.,  on  the  23d  day  of  June  last  at  fifteen 
minutes  before  3  o'clock  a.  m.  Soon  after  our  assembling  here 
in  August  I  made  formal  announcement  of  the  fact  to  the 
House,  stating  that  at  some  future  date  his  colleagues  would 
ask  the  House  to  lay  aside  its  public  duties  and  set  apart  a 
day,  that  fitting  tribute  might  be  paid  to  the  memory  of  our 
lamented  brother. 

In  asking  the  House  at  this  time  to  suspend  its  usual  delib- 
erations for  this  purpose,  we  but  observe  a  very  praiseworthy 
custom  that  has  obtained  in  both  Houses  of  Congress  from  the 
formation  of  our  Government.  Nor  do  we  ask  it  as  a  mere 
formal  ceremony,  but  to  testify  our  appreciation  of  a  faithful 
member  of  this  body  and  our  admiration  for  an  esteemed  col- 
league. To  me  it  is  a  painful  duty,  characterized  by  grief  for 
a  long  cherished  friend.  Of  all  the  tributes  of  the  human 
heart,  of  all  the  sentiments  and  feelings  incident  to  human 
nature,  there  is,  Mr.  Speaker,  perhaps  none  so  ennobling  in 
their  character,  so  refining  in  their  influence,  and  so  elevating 
in  their  tendencies  as  that  feeling  of  reverence  for  the  loved 
one  dead.  Who  can  depict  the  anguish  of  the  heart  stricken 
widow  left  to  mourn  the  loss  of  her  devoted  companion  through 
life,  or  the  heavy-laden  sorrow  of  the  affectionate  child  for  the 
devoted  father.  We  are  so  constituted  that,  in  the  attach- 
ments men  form  for  each  other  in  their  associations  through 
life,  the  separation  by  death  awakens  the  noblest  impulse  of 
our  heart  and  arouses  the  keenest  pang  of  sorrow. 


Life  and  Character  of  William  Mutchler.  9 

I  am  sure,  Mr.  Speaker,  that  such  sentiments  as  these  prompt 
the  members  of  this  House  to  participate  in  and  witness  these 
memorial  exercises  to  our  departed  colleague,  for  I  may  say  no 
higher  evidence  of  the  esteem  in  which  he  was  held  can  be  found 
than  the  many  sincere  expressions  of  regret  made  by  mem- 
bers over  his  death ;  and  the  fact  that  the  most  prominent 
members  of  this  House,  and  those  who  were  most  intimately 
acquainted  with  Mr.  MUTCHLER,  made  known  their  desire  to 
testify  their  admiration  and  respect  for  the  man  by  taking 
part  in  these  ceremonies. 

WILLIAM  MUTCHLER  was  born  December  21,  1831,  at 
Chain  Dam,  Northampton  County,  Pa.  He  was  the  son  of  John 
and  Margaret  Mutchler,  and  one  of  seven  sons.  His  father  was 
a  descendant  of  that  sturdy  German  stock  who,  imbued  with 
love  of  our  free  institutions,  left  their  native  land,  took  up 
their  abode  in  our  young  Republic,  and  contributed  so  much  to 
its  development  and  marvelous  growth.  Mr.  MUTCHLER'S 
father  settled  many  years  ago,  moving  from  the  State  of  New 
Jersey,  in  Northampton  County.  Pa.,  engaging  in  the  business 
of  a  farmer.  He  died  when  the  subject  of  our  sketch  was  only 
7  years  of  age,  and  young  MUTCHLER  was  thus  early  in  life 
compelled  to  assist  in  supporting  the  family.  He  did  not  have 
any  of  the  usual  advantages  of  life  in  the  way  of  enjoying  facil- 
ities for  education,  but  in  his  younger  years  he  manifested 
those  sturdy  traits  of  character,  of  self-reliance,  industry,  and 
perseverance,  which  so  strongly  characterized  his  career  as  a 
man. 

Later,  profiting  by  the  industries  of  himself  and  his  brothers, 
William  was  enabled  to  acquire  facilities  for  a  better  educa- 
tion, and  for  several  years,  though  at  considerable  inconven- 
ience, he  was  enabled  to  attend  the  famous  academy  of  Dr. 
Vandever  in  Easton,  and  later  in  life  began  the  study  of  law 
in  the  office  of  his  brother,  H.  M.  Mutchler,  esq.  Although 


10        Address  of  Mr.  Reilly,  of  Pennsylvania,  on  the 

not  favored  with  the  means  or  facilities  of  obtaining  an  exten- 
sive education  during  his  minority,  yet  Mr.  MUTCHLER  became 
and  was  quite  an  accomplished  scholar.  He  was  a  close  stu- 
dent, a  great  reader,  and  was  thoroughly  well  informed  upon 
all  branches  of  literature.  He  was  familiar  with  all  the  works 
of  the  great  authors,  with  history,  poetry,  arts  and  sciences, 
as  well  as  the  Scriptures.  He  was  particularly  well  versed  in 
the  sacred  writings,  and  it  afforded  him  great  pleasure  to  dis- 
cuss and  discourse  upon  the  Books  of  the  Testament,  both  old 
and  new,  their  origin  and  history. 

Whilst  reading  law  he  was  made  deputy  sheriff  of  his  county 
and  served  in  that  capacity  for  several  years;  and  was  married 
to  Miss  Louisa  Cope,  daughter  of  Jacob  Cope,  then  sheriff 
of  said  county,  to  whom  was  born  six  children,  all  of  whom 
are  dead  save  one — Howard — who  is  the  worthy  successor  of 
his  father  in  this  body.  In  1860  Mr.  MUTCHLER  was  elected  by 
the  people  of  his  county  to  the  office  of  prothonotary,  and 
reelected  to  the  same  office,  serving  from  1860  to  1866,  and  it 
was  in  these  positions  that  he  acquired  that  practical  educa- 
tion which  so  well  equipped  him,  and  which  he  found  of  so 
much  value  afterwards  in  the  practice  of  his  profession.  He 
also  held  the  office  of  assistant  assessor  of  internal  revenue 
from  1867  to  1869,  and  was  chairman  of  the  Democratic  State 
committee  of  Pennsylvania  for  the  years  1869  and  1870,  in 
which  position  he  displayed  extraordinary  executive  ability 
and  qualities  of  leadership. 

Mr.  MUTCHLER  was,  as  we  all  know,  a  man  of  splendid 
physique  and  appearance,  one  that  would  attract  attention  in 
any  assembly,  and  clearly  indicated  the  strength  of  character, 
the  generosity  of  heart,  and  power  of  intellect  that  character- 
ized him.  It  was  apparent  at  once  that  he  wras  a  man  destined 
to  be  and  to  become  prominent  among  his  fellow-men.  He 
enjoyed  the  unbounded  confidence  and  respect  of  his  people. 


Life  and  Character  of  William  Mutchler.  1 1 

as  was  demonstrated  by  his  repeated  elections  by  handsome 
majorities,  and  the  fact  that  in  his  own  county  he  never  had 
opposition  for  a  nomination,  and  this  was  the  secret  of  his  long- 
continued  power  with  his  fellow-citizens. 

As  a  lawyer  he  brought  to  the  practice  of  his  profession  a 
zeal  and  fidelity  that  made  his  client's  cause  his  own.  Honor- 
able and  honest  in  all  his  dealings  with  court  and  client,  he 
enjoyed  the  respect  of  all,  and  the  eloquent  and  sincere  tribute 
of  the  bench  and  bar  of  his  county  at  the  time  of  his  death  is 
the  highest  testimonial  of  his  standing  with  them.  He  was  of 
sound  judgment,  studious  and  painstaking  to  seek  the  right, 
and  untiring  in  his  efforts  to  sustain  it.  He  was  first  elected 
to  this  House  as  a  member  of  the  Forty-fourth  Congress,  in 
which  he  served  with  distinction  and  ability.  He  was  also  a 
member  of  the  Forty- seventh,  Forty-eighth,  Fifty-first,  Fifty- 
second,  and  Fifty-third  Congresses,  and  his  associates  here  can 
and  will  cheerfully  testify  that  his  service  all  of  these  years 
was  characterized  by  a  degree  of  fidelity,  ability,  and  patriot- 
ism that  distinguished  him  as  a  devoted  Kepresentative  of  his 
people  and  his  country.  He  served  as  a  member  of  various 
important  committees  of  the  House,  and  in  the  last  Congress 
rendered  invaluable  service  as  a  member  of  the  important  Com- 
mittee on  Appropriations. 

Mr.  MUTCHLER  was  a  man  of  kindly  disposition,  social  and 
generous  in  all  his  relations.  He  was  a  most  devoted  husband 
and  affectionate  father,  who  idolized  his  family,  and  who  wor- 
shiped at  the  hearthstone  as  at  an  altar.  As  a  friend  he  was 
sincere,  unflinching,  and  unswerving  in  that  loyalty  that  he 
made  his  own  standard  of  friendship,  and  as  a  man  he  was 
broad  and  charitable  enough  to  make  all  mankind  like  him. 
He  was  a  great  lover  of  nature  in  all  its  phases,  and  found  much 
pleasure  in  communing  with  it  in  all  its  forms.  He  seemed 
desirous  of  delving  into  and  unraveling  all  the  great  mysteries 


12        Address  of  Mr.  Reilly,  of  Pennsylvania,  on  the 

of  nature  which  surround  us,  and  its  study  was  a  source  of 
interest  and  pleasure  to  him.  He  was  of  that  disposition  that 
could  "find  tongues  in  trees,  books  in  the  running  brooks,  ser- 
mons in  stones,  and  good  in  everything." 

A  subject  of  especial  interest  to  him,  and  one  upon  which 
he  loved  to  dilate,  was  the  science  of  astronomy,  with  which 
he  was  quite  familiar.  To  read  the  stars,  to  watch  the  course 
of  the  planets,  to  admire  all  the  grandeur  and  beauties  and 
wonders  of  the  heavens,  was  always  a  matter  of  enjoyment,  and 
nothing  afforded  him  more  genuine  pleasure  than,  on  a  clear 
night,  when  the  heavens  were  brilliantly  studded,  to  visit  the 
Observatory  and,  with  the  aid  of  a  powerful  telescope,  look  in 
admiring  wonder  on  the  grand  panorama  there  presented.  The 
heavens  seemed  to  have  an  especial  attraction  for  his  mind,  and 
the  sun,  that  "great  orb  of  day,"  the  fountain  of  all  light  and 
life,  challenged  his  unbounded  admiration,  and  often  he 
expressed  the  wish,  "When  I  die,  bury  me  with  the  setting  of 
the  sun."  This  wish  of  their  lamented  dead  was  gratified  by 
his  family  and  friends,  and  as  the  last  remains  of  WILLIAM 
MUTCHLER  were  lowered  into  the  cold  and  silent  grave  in  the 
beautiful  cemetery  near  his  home  the  setting  sun  was  sinking 
below  the  western  horizon. 

Mr.  MUTCHLER  had  been  ailing  for  some  time  prior  to  his 
demise,  but  until  very  shortly  prior  to  his  death  it  was  not 
thought  that  his  condition  was  at  all  serious  or  alarming.  I 
know  that  he  was  complaining  and  had  been  unwell  during 
the  last  session  of  this  House,  and  I  am  strongly  inclined  to 
think,  Mr.  Speaker,  that  his  indefatigable  labors,  his  earnest 
application  to  the  laborious  duties  which  devolved  upon  him 
as  a  member  of  the  Appropriations  Committee,  tended  to 
exhaust  his  vitality  and  wear  upon  his  system.  We  parted 
after  the  adjournment,  when  in  company  with  his  \\  il'c,  he  made 
a  visit  to  Florida  with  a  view  of  recuperating  his  wasting 


Life  and  Character  of  William  Mutchler.  13 

energies  and  regaining  his  wonted  health.  He  returned  from 
the  trip  apparently  considerably  benefited  by  it. 

I  met  him  here  in  Washington  shortly  after  his  return,  when 
he  appeared  to  be  enjoying  tolerably  fair  health,  but  his  malady 
had  done  its  work  and  its  ravage  on  his  system  was  telling. 
In  the  month  of  June  last,  in  company  with  several  friends,  he 
went  on  a  fishing  expedition  up  into  the  mountains  of  Penn- 
sylvania, but  immediately  on  their  arrival  there  he  was  seized 
with  an  attack  of  illness  that  was  alarming  in  its  character. 
He  was  taken  back  home,  and  for  a  few  days  seemed  to  be 
recovering,  but  the  inexorable  decree  had  gone  forth,  and  he 
was  compelled  to  bow  to  that  inevitable  decree,  "That  it.  is 
appointed  for  all  men  once  to  die,"  and  in  his  home,  to  him  so 
dear,  attended  by  his  devoted  wife,  without  any  apparent 
struggle  or  pain,  our  lamented  colleague,  as  I  have  stated, 
passed  away  as  if  in  sleep. 

Mr.  Speaker,  I  bring  this  garland  and  place  it  on  the  tomb 
of  my  departed  friend,  and  pay  this  humble  tribute  to  his 
memory.  We  entered  upon  our  careers  as  members  of  this 
House  at  the  same  time,  and  stood  side  by  side  in  front  of 
your  desk  when  for  the  first  time  the  oath  of  office  was  admin- 
istered to  us.  We  were  acquainted  prior  to  that,  but  from  that 
time  an  intimacy  and  friendship  grew  up  between  us  that,  I 
am  glad  to  say,  continued  up  to  his  death.  During  our  service 
together  here  we  were  close  companions,  enjoying  each  other's 
confidence,  and,  I  am  proud  to  say,  each  other's  friendship. 
If  at  any  time  our  course  on  public  matters  were  not  in  har- 
mony it  was  only  because  of  a  difference  of  conviction  as  to 
our  respective  duty  and  in  no  way  estranged  our  pleasant  per- 
sonal relations. 

When  1  visited  Easton  to  attend  his  funeral  and  viewed  his 
remains  I  felt  from  the  habit  of  long  association  as  if  I  must 
get  some  recognition  from  him,  and  instinctively,  as  I  stood  by 


14        Address  of  Mr.  Reilly,  of  Pennsylvania,  on  the 

his  bier,  I  reached  out  my  hand  as  for  the  usual  greeting 
between  us,  but  only  to  be  reminded  by  his  cold  and  irrespon- 
sive hands  that  he  was  silent  in  death,  and  I  must  be  com- 
pelled in  parting  to  bid  him  only  a  silent  farewell.  As  in  life 
I  esteemed  my  friend,  so  in  death  shall  I  cherish  his  memory. 

Mr.  Speaker,  generations  of  men  come  and  go,  and  follow 
each  other  as  do  the  billows  on  the  ocean's  crest,  rising  in  their 
majestic  form,  crystal-crowned,  only  to  fall  and  be  dashed  to 
pieces  on  the  shore  and  disappear;  but  it  can  not  be,  Mr. 
Speaker,  that  all  there  is  of  this  mystery  of  life  is  the  narrow 
span  between  the  cradle  and  the  grave.  Must  we  be  forced 
to  the  belief  that  all  these  great  endowments  given  to  men, 
such  as  our  lamented  friend  was  gifted  with,  bright  intellect, 
exalted  virtue,  nobility  of  character,  and  all  that  we  admire 
in  mankind,  die  with  the  body  and  are  buried  in  the  grave? 

It  is  not  given  to  us,  Mr.  Speaker,  to  know  all  these  great 
mysteries,  but  though  it  may  be  above  it  is  not  against  reason 
to  indulge  in  the  confident  hope  and  entertain  the  firm  con- 
viction that  beyond  the  grave  there  is  a  brighter  and  happier 
world  where  the  beloved  ones  on  earth  shall  meet  again.  The 
great  mystery  beyond  is  revealed  to  our  friend.  Let  us  hope 
that  he  is  at  rest. 

Behold,  I  shew  you  a  mystery;  We  shall  not  all  sleep,  but 
we  shall  all  be  changed, 

In  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  at  the  last  trump: 
for  the  trumpet  shall  sqund,  and  the  dead  shall  be  raised 
incorruptible,  and  we  shall  be  changed. 


Life  and  Character  of  William  Mutchler.  15 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  CHARLES  W.  STONE,  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 

Mr.  SPEAKER  :  WILLIAM  MUTCHLER  was  my  friend,  and  I 
deplore  his  death  as  a  personal  bereavement. 

He  was  a  Pennsylvanian,  and  the  great  State  we  both  loved 
mourns  the  loss  of  a  filial  and  devoted  son. 

He  was  an  American,  and  from  the  ranks  of  the  nation's  law- 
makers has  gone  a  loyal,  brave,  and  true  public  servant. 

Bounteous  tributes  of  reverence  and  affection  have  already 
been  offered  to  his  memory  by  his  brethren  of  the  bar  and 
sorrowing  neighbors  and  constituents.  To  these  it  is  befitting 
that  his  associates  in  this  House  add  their  testimony  to  his 
high  qualities  as  a  Representative,  and  the  expression  of  their 
sorrow  at  the  loss  of  a  trusted,  honored,  and  loved  associate. 

My  acquaintance  with  Mr.  MUTCHLER  commenced  before 
we  met  as  members  of  this  House,  but  it  was  not  intimate,  and 
came  only  through  the  courteous  intercourse  of  casual  meet- 
ings. We  differed  politically,  and  were  far  separated  geo- 
graphically, but  during  our  common  service  in  this  House  we 
drew  gradually  nearer  together  until,  during  the  last  session, 
we  often  ate  at  the  same  table  and  enjoyed  many  of  the  con- 
fidences of  intimate  friendship.  In  many  respects  we  stood  on 
common  ground.  Our  early  lives  showed  many  instances  of 
parallel  experience,  and  each  day's  intercourse  enlarged  our 
sympathy  and  strengthened  our  mutual  regard ;  and  the  news 
of  his  death  brought  to  me  all  the  shock  and  grief  of  a  per- 
sonal loss. 

Mr.  MUTCHLER  was  a  man  of  attractive  and  winning  quali- 
ties, and  attached  his  friends  to  him  as  with  bands  of  iron.  He 
was  always  true  to  them  with  a  loyalty  that  knew  no  thought 
of  desertion  or  betrayal,  and  they  trusted  him  without  question, 


16     Address  of  Mr.  C.  W.  Stone,  of  Pennsylvania,  on  the 

without  hesitation,  and  without  doubt.  His  rugged  honesty, 
his  entire  candor,  his  fidelity  to  every  trust  and  to  every  friend 
were  the  solid  underlying  traits  of  a  noble  character.  He  was 
modest,  unostentatious,  sincere,  generous-hearted,  broad- 
minded,  and  level-headed.  He  disliked  display,  never  posed, 
and  did  nothing  simply  for  effect;  in  short,  to  use  the  expres- 
sive words  of  another,  he  was  "a  perfectly  natural  man."  He 
was  simple  in  his  habits,  plain  in  his  tastes,  quiet  in  demeanor, 
straightforward  in  action.  He  was  manly,  independent,  self- 
respecting.  He  asserted  and  guarded  his  rights  with  gentle 
modesty,  but  with  manly  dignity.  He  bowed  to  no  dictation, 
he  acknowledged  no  master.  He  owned  himself. 

As  a  lawyer  he  attained  greater  success  than  most  men  who 
come  to  the  bar  as  late  in  life  as  he  did.  He  was  not  accom- 
plished in  the  learning  of  the  schools.  His  early  education 
was  but  the  average  academic  training  of  his  day.  His  prep- 
aration for  the  bar  came  largely  through  the  practical  experi- 
ence of  the  prothonotary's  and  sheriffs  offices,  and  only  later 
did  jje  grapple  with  the  science  and  philosophy  of  the  law. 
His  logical  mind,  clear  insight,  direct  methods,  and  untiring 
industry  speedily  gave  him  efficiency,  and  he  became  a  strong 
and  successful  lawyer,  enjoying  the  fullest  confidence  and 
respect  of  both  bench  and  bar. 

As  a  member  of  this  House  he  commanded  the  confidence 
and  respect  of  all,  and  the  closer  attachment  and  affection  of 
those  who  knew  him  intimately.  He  could  not  be  called 
eloquent,  but  was  clear,  logical,  direct,  and  candid  in  state- 
ment, and  his  perfect  fairness,  large  views,  and  broad  states- 
manship gave  significance  and  force  to  his  utterances,  and 
always  commanded  respectful  attention.  He  was  a  solid 
rather  than  a  brilliant  man.  What  he  accomplished  was  by 
no  sudden  flight,  no  meteoric  flash  of  genius,  but  by  quiet, 
faithful,  persistent  labor. 


Life  and  Character  of  William  Mutchler.  17 

I  can  not  better  delineate,  his  Congressional  career  than  to 
quote  his  own  words,  uttered  in  this  House  in  the  chaste  and 
feeling  tribute  paid  by  him  to  the  memory  of  the  late  Samuel 
J.  Kandall.  Said  he: 

The  one  great  end  and  aim  of  his  Congressional  life  was  to 
do  his  duty  and — 

"  He  walked  attended 
By  a  strong-aiding  champion,  conscience" — 

bringing  to  the  labors  of  every  day  the  strong  common  sense 
and  vigorous  interest  of  an  earnest,  faithful,  honest  man. 

Every  word  of  this  is  true  of  WILLIAM  MUTCHLER.  In 
uttering  them  he  but  gazed  into  the  mirror  and  pictured  his 
own  character.  Strong  common  sense,  earnestness,  fidelity, 
and  sincerity  were  his  distinguishing  characteristics.  He  was 
always  true  to  his  word,  to  his  friends,  to  himself. 

He  was  a  zealous  partisan,  strong  in  his  allegiance  to  the 
party  to  which  he  belonged,  but  stronger  in  his  loyalty  to  the 
commands  of  his  own  conscience,  and  when  in  the  Fifty-first 
Congress  his  party,  with  almost  unbroken  front,  rallied  to  the 
standard  of  the  free  coinage  of  silver  he  had  the  courage  to 
separate  from  them  on  that  question.  On  that  subject  he 
had  positive  and  well-defined  convictions,  the  result  of  careful 
thought  and  study,  and  he  stood  resolutely  to  them.  His 
love  of  his  party  was  strong,  but  for  his  country  stronger. 

He  was  a  true  representative  of  his  people.  He  knew  them, 
loved  them,  sympathized  with  them,  and  was  their  counselor 
and  confidant  as  well  as  leader.  His  early  life  on  the  farm 
and  later  services  as  prothonotary  and  sheriff  of  his  county 
and  collector  of  internal  revenue  of  his  district  brought  him 
into  daily,  close,  and  intimate  contact  and  sympathetic  asso- 
ciation with  them,  and  he  came  to  understand  their  views, 
sentiments,  motives,  and  characters  with  more  than  ordinary 
thoroughness,  and  gained  a  place  in  their  affections  and  con- 
H.  Mis.  93 2 


18      Address  of  Mr.  Breckinridge,  of  Arkansas,  on  the 

fidence  from  which  no  assaults  o£  political  rivalry  could  dis- 
lodge him. 

• 

But,  sir,  his  work  is  done;  his  career  is  ended.  His  place  in 
this  House  is  filled  and  worthily  filled  by  another,  and  the  name 
of  MUTCHLER  still  remains  on  our  rolls;  but  the  void  in  the 
hearts  of  loving  friends  and  trusting  constitutents  has  not 
been  filled.  They  will  long  cherish  the  memory  and  mourn  the 
loss  of  a  friend  always  loyal  and  true,  of  a  Representative 
always  faithful,  diligent,  and  efficient. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  BRECKINRIDGE,  OF  ARKANSAS. 

Mr.  SPEAKER  :  I  have  no  formal  remarks  to  submit  upon  the 
death  of  my  friend,  and  our  former  associate,  Mr.  MUTCIILER, 
of  Pennsylvania.  But  for  one  who  knew  him  during  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  his  Congressional  life,  and  who  was  asso- 
ciated with  him  in  the  close  and  intimate  work  of  committee 
labor,  it  is  not  difficult  to  say  a  few  words,  though  they  be 
impromptu  and  wholly  informal. 

My  acquaintance  with  Mr.  MUTCHLER  was  as  a  member  of 
this  House.  Living  as  we  did  in  distantly  separated  portions 
of  our  vast  country,  it  was  never  my  pleasure  to  meet  him 
except  when  we  were  thrown  together  in  public  life.  But  he 
was  not  a  man  to  meet,  to  know,  and  to  be  forgotten.  He  was 
a  man  of  that  true  and  strong  type  of  character,  of  that  clear- 
ness and  soundness  of  judgment,  and  of  that  kindliness  of 
nature  which  made  a  lasting  impression  upon  those  who  were 
intimately  thrown  with  him.  I  know  of  no  one  who  has  served 
in  this  House  during  the  course  of  my  service  here  who  brought 
to  the  discharge  of  his  public  duties  more  earnestness  of  pur- 
pose, sounder  judgment,  more  conscientious  labor,  or  a  higher 


Life  and  Character  of  William  Mutchler.  19 

sense  of  patriotism  and  honor  than  did  the  gentleman  whose 
memory  we  seek  to  honor  to-day. 

He  was  not  one  of  our  associates  who  figured  frequently  in 
the  proceedings  of  the  House  as  published  and  spread  broad- 
cast over  the  country,  but  his  influence  was  out  of  all  propor- 
tion to  what  may  be  called  his  visible  activities.  His  associates 
learned  to  trust  his  judgment,  particularly  in  all  things  espe- 
cially intrusted  to  his  care.  Not  a  few  of  the  most  important 
steps  taken  in  this  House  were  taken  upon  his  advice.  It 
became  the  desire,  the  increasing  desire,  of  those  who  knew 
him  to  know  what  he  thought,  whenever  it  was  understood 
that  he  had  given  attention  to  any  branch  of  public  affairs. 
We  listened  always  with  respect  to  his  clear  and  impressive 
statements,  and  he  was  beyond  doubt,  from  confidence  in  his 
ability  and  accuracy  and  confidence  in  his  character,  one  of 
the  most  influential  members  of  this  body. 

As  a  public  man,  he  was,  in  the  very  best  sense  of  the  term, 
a  statesman.  He  loved  his  whole  country.  While  a  strong 
partisan,  he  was  in  no  sense  a  narrow  one.  With  his  frank 
and  generous  heart  there  was  free  play  for  all  the  kindly  senti- 
ments of  human  nature;  and  with  his  fearless  spirit  there  was 
the  courage,  under  all  circumstances,  to  do  what  he  conceived 
to  be  his  duty.  I  have  often  thought  that  there  was  no  posi- 
tion in  public  life  that  he  could  not  have  filled  with  credit  and 
honor. 

During  the  many  years  that  he  served  with  us,  often  taking 
decided  ground  both  upon  questions  within  the  party  of  which 
he  was  a  member,  and  upon  which  there  were  strong  differences 
of  opinion,  and  upon  such  questions  between  the  two  great 
parties  upon  this  floor,  yet  it  can  be  said  of  him,  as  it  can  be 
said  of  few,  that  he  so  deported  himself,  he  so  addressed  him- 
self to  all  public  questions,  as  never  to  have  his  motives  called 
in  question  from  any  quarter,  and  to  meet  in  all  of  his  associa- 


20     Address  of  Mr.  Breckinridge,  of  Arkansas,  on  Ihc 

tions,  botli  in  and  outside  of  his  party,  with  unbroken  and 
supreme  public  and  personal  respect. 

I  do  not  know  that  in  the  whole  of  his  positive  career  there 
has  ever  passed  between  him  and  any  of  his  associated  upon 
this  floor  any  colloquy  that  was  calculated  to  leave  a  sting 
behind  it.  When  contemplating  the  quiet  demeanor  of  my 
friend  and  the  great  influence  that  he  exercised,  when  I  have 
considered  the  increasing  confidence  which  I  myself  have 
always  had  in  his  judgment  and  conclusions,  I  have  often 
thought  how  much  he  was  indebted  in  his  reasoning  processes, 
not  only  to  the  soundness  of  judgment  which  he  possessed, 
but  to  the  excellencies  of  his  personal  character.  He  showed 
as  clearly  as  any  man  of  whom  I  have  known  that  "out  of  the 
heart  proceedeth  the  issues  of  life."  And  I  believe  that  out 
of  his  pure,  kind,  and  brave  heart  there  never  proceeded  a 
sentiment  that  was  unjust  toward  any  living  being. 

It  was  my  duty,  Mr.  Chairman,  in  common  with  other  mem- 
bers of  this  House,  to  attend  the  final  exercises  upon  the  occa- 
sion of  his  burial.  It  is  the  only  occasion  when  I  have  ever  at- 
tended the  burial  of  a  deceased  member  of  this  body ;  and  I  will 
say  that  if  we  are  to  judge  by  the  respect  that  was  shown  to 
his  memory,  by  the  deference  and  regard  that  marked  all  those 
who  participated  in  what  was  associated  with  his  burial,  we 
must  conclude  that  these  finaV  exercises  on  our  part  in  connec- 
tion with  those  with  whom  we  have  been  associated  here  are 
not  idle  ceremonies. 

And  when  I  went  to  the  old  town  of  Easton  where  and  about 
which  he  had  passed  his  whole  life,  I  could  see  some  of  the 
reasons  why  Mr.  MUTCHLER  was  the  man  that  he  was.  An  old, 
quiet,  and  established  place,  where  the  people  have  homes,  and 
the  homes  have  cherished  traditions.  There  was  comfort,  there 
was  intelligence,  there  were  all  the  vital  sentiments  and  sub- 
stantial elements  most  cherished  in  our  American  civilization, 


Life  and  Character  of  William  Mutchler.  2 1 

the  whole  illumined  by  the  ancieut  aud  eminent  seat  of  learning 
that  presides  upon  a  hilltop  over  the  city  about  it.  There, 
with  that  people,  in  the  shadow  of  that  college,  with  its  vine- 
covered  walls,  we  could  see  the  associations  that  could  give  us 
such  a  product  as  WILLIAM  MUTCHLER. 

I  consider  that  he  was  a  model  as  a  Kepresentative;  that 
he  was  a  model  as  a  gentleman;  and  it  makes  me  realize  how 
closely  our  people  are  allied  when  I  say  that  he  was  in  my 
estimation  a  perfect  type  of  a  Southern  gentleman.  I  can 
wish  nothing  better  to  our  country,  I  can  wish  nothing  better 
to  these  halls,  than  that  among  our  people  and  here  among 
our  Representatives  we  may  never  lack  for  men  like  unto  him. 
And  when  we  come  to*  pass  over  the  river,  may  we  rest  in  as 
sweet  and  as  beautiful  a  place  as  where  his  body  now  lies,  and 
be  the  recipients  of  that  profound  respect  which  all  classes  of 
his  people  united  with  his  representative  associates  in  bestow- 
ing at  his  burial. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  BINGHAM,  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 

Mr.  Speaker,  it  becomes  my  sad  duty  to  cast  my  votive 
tribute  of  honor  upon  the  narrow  resting  place  of  my  late 
colleague  from  Pennsylvania,  the  Hon.  WILLIAM  MUTCHLER. 
I  need  not  say  to  you  who  knew  him  so  well,  respected  him  so 
much,  and  loved  him  so  dearly,  what  a  melancholy  pleasure  it 
is  to  me,  since  we  can  no  more  recall  him  to  life,  in  approach- 
ing the  duty  of  adding  a  few  words  to  the  memory  of  the 
good  and  great  associate  and  colleague  gone.  I  can  only 
regret  my  inability  to  find  expression  adequate  to  his  sterling 
worth  as  a  man,  his  conspicuous  integrity  and  ability  as  a 
statesman,  his  pure  and  lofty  patriotism  which  always  lifted 
country  above  party. 


22     Address  of  Mr.  Bingham,  of  Pennsylvania,  on  the 

To  his  marked  physical  conditions  as  well  as  strong  mental 
force  he  owed  his  steady  and  withal  rapid  rise  in  life.  Inured 
to  toil  from  boyhood,  he  learned  self-denial  in  the  hard  but 
effective  school  of  necessity.  From  the  habit  of  labor  he 
acquired  the  nobility  of  self-reliance.  Kising  from  the  ranks 
by  his  own  exertions,  he  early  became  possessed  of  a  spirit  of 
equality  taught  by  intimate  association  with  humanity  in  all 
its  phases  and  multiform  relations.  As  he  rose  from  hum- 
bler to  higher  grades  of  labor  and  responsibility  he  never  lost 
nor  yet  abated  his  sympathy  with  his  first  surroundings  and 
early  struggles  for  the  obligations  above  which  he  so  steadily, 
so  splendidly  rose.  His  large  heart  was  in  as  close,  intelli- 
gent, sympathetic  touch  with  the  humblest  and  most  unlet- 
tered as  it  was  with  the  most  influential  and  wisest  of  his 
constituents.  His  people  knew  his  great  and  noble  creed; 
they  trusted  him  and  he  never  faltered,  never  grew  weary  in 
his  work  for  them.  He  was  a  man  without  prejudice,  a  friend 
without  hypocrisy,  a  politician  without  malice,  a  statesman 
without  guile,  a  philanthropist  without  pretense,  a  Christian 
without  cant.  He  was  bigger  than  any  party  platform,  broader 
than  any  church  creed. 

A  strict  partisan,  when  the  behest  of  a  great  body  of  his 
party  meant  not  the  good  of  his  country,  his  rugged  integrity 
shook  off  all  allegiance  at  the  call  of  patriotism.  He  could 
neither  be  cajoled,  bribed,  nor  intimidated.  His  statesman 
ship  was  as  wide  as  his  constituency  and  State;  his  patriotism 
was  as  broad  as  his  country;  his  philanthropy  embraced  the 
universal  world  of  humanity  everywhere,  regardless  of  creed, 
color,  or  conditions,  and  held  it  in  intimate,  sympathetic  touch. 
I  !••  \v;is  safe  in  counsel,  prompt  in  action,  as  grnlh-  ;is  he  was 
brave.  He  was  true  to  self,  loyal  to  friends,  faithful  to  obliga- 
tions.  Naturally  proud  of  popularity  which  he  deserved,  he 
shrank  from  even  a  shadow  of  hypocrisy.  His  chief  aim  was 


Life  and  Character  of  William  Mutchler.  25 

to  do  right  whether  he  seemed  right  or  not.  So  his  constitu 
ents  came  to  know  and  hence  their  unswerving  trust  in  him. 
So  his  fellow-members  on  this  floor  came  to  know  and  hence 
their  admiration,  confidence,  and  love  for  him. 

Good  in  all  things,  great  in  many,  he  owed  his  success  most 
largely  to  his  unusual  talent  of  labor.  He  had  learned  how 
to  labor  and  to  wait  in  the  school  of  necessity,  and  the  habit 
thus  formed  became  his  solid  stepping-stone  to  fortune  and 
fame.  Nature,  which  had  lavishly  endowed  him  with  talent, 
bestowed  upon  him  none  of  the  glitter  and  glow  of  genius. 
He  toiled  and  climbed,  never  soared  to  the  object  of  his  ambi- 
tion. His  ascent  was  rapid  and  steady,  not  brilliant  and  fitful ; 
among  the  stars  of  his  country's  constellation  his  fame  will 
burn  on  forever  with  the  steady  flame  of  the  fixed  star  rather 
than  glimmer,  flash,  glow,  and  disappear  like  the  erratic 
comet. 

His  forceful,  yet  gentle,  life  is  an  object  lesson  for  the  Ameri- 
can youth  of  to-day,  to-morrow,  and  for  all  time.  Showing,  as 
it  does,  that  to  him  who  wills  and  fortifies  that  will  with  labor 
and  perseverance  there  is  nothing  impossible,  the  career  of 
Hon.  WILLIAM  MCTCHLER  is  at  once  an  incentive  to  honor- 
able ambition  and  a  chart  to  show  the  road  to  wealth,  renown, 
a;id  all  the  world  holds  dear  in  pursuit  and  achievement. 

But  he  has  gone  from  among  us.  His  chair  is  vacant.  Fully 
as  his  honored  and  distinguished  son,  his  successor,  may  fill 
his  place  to  his  constituents,  there  is  an  aching  void  in  the 
hearts  of  his  late  associates  which  no  successor,  not  even  a  son, 
can  fill.  These  walls  may  echo  back  words  as  wise,  sentiments 
as  lofty,  patriotism  as  pure,  but  the  echoes  of  his  voice  will 
often  be  heard  above  them,  and  in  the  sacred  hours  of  retro- 
spection which  come  to  all  of  us  and  come  in  welcome  in  the 
silent  watches  of  the  night,  in  the  idle  daydreams  of  midsum- 
mer, the  echoes  of  his  manly  voice  will  ring  again  through  the 


24  Address  of  Mr.  Springer,  of  Illinois,  on  the 

vaults  of  memory  and  incite  us,  I  trust,  to  higher  thoughts, 
loftier  purposes,  deeds  of  nobler  daring,  of  purer  self-abnega- 
tion. 

A  few  years  ago,  in  the  prime  of  his  splendid  manhood,  in 
the  perfection  of  his  rare  physical  and  mental  endowments,  he 
was  the  last  one  whom  Death  would  have  seemcjd  to  mark  for 
his  early  passing  away.  But  his  life  work  was  not  to  be  meas- 
ured by  years,  but  by  achievements,  and  his  life  work  is  done 
and  well  done.  His  brain  is  still;  his  voice  is  hushed;  his 
hands  are  numbed,  but  the  influence  of  that  life  work  will  go 
on  forever,  inciting  to  new  effort  by  its  example,  blessing  new 
generations  with  its  results. 

"  Every  moment  dies  a  man, 
Every  moment  one  is  born." 

For  every  such  noble  life  as  that  of  our  late  fellow-member 
that  thus  goes  up  to  its  reward  there  comes  down  to  earth  a 
score  of  such  spirits  by  the  ragged  rent  through  which  the  glad 
soul  clove  its  way  through  Heaven's  dome  in  its  impatient 
flight.  Though  we  do  not  lack  for  statesmen,  patriots,  and 
friends  here,  the  place  of  our  late  colleague  will  never  be  filled 
in  our  hearts,  for  our  heads  will  be  low  in  the  dust  before  the 
good  spirit  that  came  to  earth  to  compensate  for  him  shall  have 
matured  for  life's  noblest  actions,  highest  purposes,  and  needed 
work. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  SPRINGER,  OF  ILLINOIS. 

Mr.  SPEAKER:  I  thoroughly  agree  with  all  that  has  been  so 
well  said  by  the  distinguished  gentlemen  who  have  preceded 
me  with  reference  to  the  character  and  public  services  of  Mr. 
MUTCHLER,  and  it  must  be  gratifying  indeed  to  the  friends 
and  family  of  our  deceased  brother  to  hear  the  tributes  to  his 
memory  which  have  been  paid  by  gentlemen  representing  both 


Life  and  Character  of  William  Mutchler.  25 

the  great  political  parties  of  this  country  which  we  have  heard 
hereto-day.  Too  much,  in  my  judgment,  can  not  be  said  in 
reference  to  the  high  character  and  noble  work  of  our  deceased 
friend. 

Pope  in  his  immortal  Essay  on  Man  says: 
"Worth  makes  the  man,  and  want  of  it  the  fellow." 
It  is  not  great  wealth,  it  is  not  so-called  royal  blood,  it  is  not 
learning  or  official  position  that  makes  the  true  man.    It  is  a 
life  of  noble  deeds,  of  true  manhood,  of  unselfish  devotion  to 
family,  to  home,  and  country,  and  a  walk  and  conversation 
void  of  offense  that  constitute  true  worth.     Such  was  the  life 
of  our  deceased  brother,  to  commemorate  whose  virtues  we 
have,  for  the  time,  suspended  public  business.    I  desire  to  add 
my  tribute  to  his  worth,  and  will  be  as  brief  as  possible. 

WILLIAM  MUTCHLER  was  born  in  Northampton  County, 
Pa.,  nearly  sixty-two  years  ago.  There  he  grew  up  to  manhood 
and  there  he  died.  He  was  attached  to  his  home,  and  never 
left  it  to  seek  his  fortune  elsewhere.  He  belonged  to  a  race  of 
people  who  have  made  Pennsylvania  what  it  is  to-day — a  great 
Commonwealth,  the  second  State  in  the  Union.  They  had  a 
language  of  their  own,  which  is  known  as  Pennsylvania  Dutch, 
"a  dialect  of  South  Germany  with  an  infusion  of  English." 
The  word  "Dutch"  as  applied  to  this  language  and  to  these 
people  is  a  misnomer,  for  it  does  not  imply  a  Holland  origin. 

Tbe  early  settlers  of  Pennsylvania  came  from  South  Ger- 
many and  the  Upper  Ehine  and  the  Neckar  regions.  They 
met  in  Pennsylvania  and  mingled  with  English-speaking 
colonists,  and  the  two  languages  became  merged  into  a 
dialect,  which  was  neither  German  nor  English,  but  a  lan- 
guage greatly  resemblingboth  of  the  others.  The  language  was 
characteristic  of  the  people.  It  was  simple,  but  strong, 
perfectly  adapted  to  a  people  of  plain  habits  and  striking 
personality.  Mr.  MUTCHLER  was  a  typical  Pennsylvanian.  He 


26  Address  of  Mr.  Springer,  of  Illinois,  on  the 

was  a  plain,  unassuming,  quiet,  dignified  gentleman.  He  was 
all  that  lie  assumed  to  be,  and  more  than  that.  He  was  better 
than  he  appeared  to  be.  So  modest  and  unassuming  was  he 
that  one  might  have  been  with  him  and  near  him  for  years 
without  discovering  one-half  his  merit  or  learning  but  little 
of  his  true  worth. 

He  was  a  lawyer  by  profession,  and  his  mind  was  clear  anti 
his  reasoning  logical.  He  was  well  informed  in  history,  in 
political  economy,  and  in  the  useful  sciences.  He  was  emi- 
nently practical  and  always  thorough  and  conscientious  in  the 
investigation  of  legal,  political,  or  economic  subjects.  He  held 
responsible  public  positions  in  his  own  State  before  his  advent 
into  Congress,  and  always  performed  his  official  duties  faith- 
fully and  with  due  regard  to  the  public  interests.  He  served 
ten  years  as  a  member  of  this  House,  and  was  elected  a  mem- 
ber of  this  Congress,  but  died  before  the  first  session  assembled. 
His  constituents  paid  a  high  but  deserved  tribute  to  his  mem- 
ory by  electing  his  worthy  son  to  be  his  successor.  If  the 
father  could  appear  among  his  people  again,  he  would  doubt- 
less assure  them  that,  in  thus  honoring  his  sou,  they  had  con- 
ferred the  highest  honor  and  greatest  satisfaction  upon.  him. 

Mr.  MUTCHLEH'H  Congressional  career  was  not  continuous. 
He  first  appeared  in  the  Forty-fourth  Congress,  when  I  first 
made  his  acquaintance,  as  we  entered  that  Congress  together. 
I  learned  during  the  exciting  scenes  of  that  Congress,  being 
the  Congress  that  settled  the  contest  between  Tilden  and 
Hayes  for  the  J 'residency,  to  admire  him  for  his  fidelity  to 
his  party,  for  his  quiet  and  gentlemanly  demeanor.  ;ui<l  lor  his 
strong  and  manly  character.  He  was  not  elected  to  the  Forty 
fifth  and  Forty-sixth  Congresses,  nor  to  the  Forty-ninth  of 
Fiftieth.  These  breaks  in  his  Congressional  career  interfered 
greatly  with  his  promotion  in  committee  service,  for  custom 
assigned  him  to  the  position  of  a  new  member  at  each  new 


Life  and  Character  of  William  Mutchler.  27 

appearance.  But  his  usefulness  was  not  impaired  or  his  worth 
less  appreciated  by  those  who  knew  him.  He  was  always 
faithful  to  the  public  weal,  prompt  in  attendance,  and  thorough 
in  his  committee  and  legislative  work. 

Those  who  knew  him  best  loved  him  most.  He  was  a  devoted 
husband,  a  kind  father,  an  honest  and  able  statesman.  He 
was  devoted  to  his  family,  to  his  friends,  to  his  State,  and  to 
the  whole  country.  He  was  faithful  to  every  trust  confided  to 
him.  He  performed  every  duty  that  devolved  upon  him.  He 
lived  the  life  of  an  honest  man,  a  good  citizen,  and  a  true 
patriot.  His  death  is  deplored  by  all  who  knew  him. 

We,  who  knew  him  as  a  brother  member  of  this  House,  have 
especial  reason  to  mourn  his  loss;  we  miss  his  wise  counsels, 
his  solid  and  mature  judgment,  his  untiring  efforts  in  the  cause 
of  good  government.  Our  loss,  however,  will  be  his  gain.  He 
rests  from  his  labors.  He  has  gone  to  reap  the  reward  of  those 
wM>,  while  living,  loved  their  fellow-men.  With  such,  all  must 
be  well,  not  only  in  this  mortal  life,  but  in  the  higher  and 
nobler  life  beyond  the  tomb. 

I  can  not  close  this  brief  tribute  to  his  memory  more  appro- 
priately than  by  quoting  the  tender  words  of  the  Quaker  poet, 
Whittier : 

He  has  done  the  work  of  a  true  man; 

Crown  him,  honor  him,  love  him ; 
Weep  over  him  tears  of  woman, 

Stoop  manliest  brows  above  him. 
***** 
No  duty  could  overtask  him, 

No  need  his  will  outrun; 
Or  ever  our  lips  could  ask  him 

His  hands  the  work  had  done. 


28          Address  of  Mr,  Dockery,  of  Missouri,  on  the 

ADDRESS  OF  MR.  DOCKERY,  OF  MISSOURI. 

Mr.  Speaker,  I  regret  that  circumstances  have  operated  to 
prevent  ine  from  offering  any  extended  observations  on  the  life 
and  character  of  WILLIAM  MUTCHLEE.  I  can  not  allow  the 
occasion  to  pass,  however,  without  a  single  word. 

My  acquaintance  with  the  deceased  began  in  the  Forty-eighth 
Congress.  The  friendship  established  then  was  strengthened 
as  by  hooks  of  steel  in  the  Fifty- first  and  Fifty- second  Con- 
gresses through  the  intimate  relations  incident  to  fellow- 
membership  on  the  Committee  on  Appropriations. 

Our  friend  was  an  effective  speaker,  clear,  vigorous,  and 
logical  in  the  statement  of  a  proposition j  but  it  was  in  the  pains- 
taking deliberations  of  the  committee  room  that  he  appeared, 
as  it  seemed  to  me,  to  best  advantage.  In  that  relation  he  was 
tireless  in  energy,  impartial  in  consideration,  just  in  judgment, 
and  delightful  in  social  qualities.  His  conclusions  upon  all 
questions  before  that  great  committee,  which  provides  for  the 
expenditure  of  the  larger  part  of  the  people's  money,  always 
commanded  re.spectful  attention  at  the  hands  of  his  colleagues. 

He  was  a  loving  father,  a  true  friend,  a  patriotic  citizen,  and 
a  wise,  conscientious  legislator. 

Our  friend  worked  diligently,  achieved  nobly,  and  passed 
away  while  yet  in  the  prime  of  his  usefulness. 

Life !  I  know  not  what  thou  art, 

But  this  I  know,  that  thou  and  I  must  part; 

And  when  or  where  or  how  we  meet, 

I  own  to  me's  a  secret  yet. 

*  *  *  *  # 

Life!  we've  been  long  together, 

Through  pleasant  and  through  cloudy  \\rather. 

'Tis  hard  to  part  when  friends  are  dear, 

Perhaps  't  will  cost  a  sigh,  a  tear — 

Then  steal  a\\;iy — give  little  warning, 

Choose  thine own  time,  say  not  "(Jood  night!" 

But  in  some  brighter  clime  bid  me  "Good  morning!" 


Life  and  Character  of  William  Mutchler.  29 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  BROSIUS,  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 

Mr.  SPEAKEK  :  Sharing  the  very  common  illusion  that  words 
are  a  proper  mode  of  testifying  our  sense  of  loss,  when  a 
friend  whom  we  loved,  or  a  public  character  whom  the  coun- 
try can  ill  afford  to  lose,  is  called  away,  I  embrace  the  oppor- 
tunity which  the  occasion  affords  to  add  my  feeble  tribute  to 
the  eloquent,  graceful,  and  touching  words  which  have  already 
been  said  concerning  the  character  and  public  services  of  our 
departed  friend,  to  add  one  little  flower  to  the  chaplet  with 
which  respect,  esteem,  and  affection  have  garlanded  his 
memory. 

In  this  world,  Mr.  Speaker,  we  meet  with  no  other  event  so 
profoundly  impressive  as  death.  It  is  useful  to  survivors  only 
as  they  comprehend  its  lessons.  This  may  excuse  the  public 
occasion  we  make  of  the  ceremonies  commemorative  of  the 
character  and  services  of  departed  members  of  this  House, 
justifying  in  this  conspicuous  fashion,  and  raising  into  public 
notice,  over  this  new-made  grave,  illustrious  examples  of  pri- 
vate worth  and  public  usefulness. 

Those  whose  acquaintance  with  our  distinguished  friend 
commission  them  to  speak  only  of  those  excellencies  of 
character  which  found  their  illustration  in  an  interesting  and 
distinguished  career  in  the  service  of  his  country,  which  he 
decorated  and  adorned  with  strict  fidelity  and  disinterested 
devotion,  find  an  inviting  subject  for  eulogy  and  a  deserving 
example  to  extol  in  the  public  ear. 

It  seems,  from  what  has  been  said  on  the  floor  to-day,  that 
WILLIAM  MUTCHLER  was  a  self-made  man.  Whatever  emi- 
nence he  attained  was  due  to  an  earnest  and  courageous  effort 
to  make  the  most  of  the  endowments  that  had  been  given  him 


30      Address  of  Mr.  Brosius,  of  Pennsylvania,  on  the 

under  the  stimulating  inspiration  of  high  and  noble  ideals. 
Every  success  he  achieved  was  a  victory  over  difficulties  which, 
to  him,  were  always  incentives  to  exertion.  Every  distinction 
he  won  was  a  triumph  in  honorable  encounter.  In  every  strug- 
gle he  was  doubly  armed,  for  he  never  contended  without  feel- 
ing a  sense  of  the  justice  of  his  cause.  He  fought  with  honest 
weapons,  and  nobly  won  or  nobly  lost;  brought  back  from 
every  field  of  encounter,  or  was  brought  back  on  a  stainless 
shield  of  honorable  defense. 

From  what  I  have  heard  here  to-day  and  from  my  own 
observation  of  his  career,  among  the  attributes  which  summed 
up  a  strong  character  and  a  vigorous  personality,  there  are  a 
few  traits  preeminently  worthy  to  be  set  before  the  world  as 
examples,  and  these  are  expressed  by  the  words  honor,  cour- 
age, and  duty.  These  were  the  precious  and  conspicuous 
jewels  in  the  crown  of  his  character,  and  I  set  them  apart 
to-day  and  lift  them  over  his  new-made  grave  into  public  notice 
as  the  golden  texts  in  the  lesson  of  his  life. 

Honor;  Mr.  Speaker,  is  the  noble  mind's  distinguishing  per- 
fection 5  and  I  have  the  happiness  to  believe  that  in  no  age  of 
the  world  has  this  perfection  been  so  much  in  fashion  in  public 
life  as  now.  Still,  occasional  notable  exceptions  which  strew 
our  public  life,  emphasize  the  beauty  and  excellence  of  that 
high  sense  of  public  probity  which  makes  this  perfection  oft- 
times  blaze  in  the  public  eye,  in  public  servants  who,  like  the 
virtuous  Andrew  Fletcher,  would  give  their  lives  to  serve  their 
country,  but  would  not  do  a  base  thing  to  save  it.  Our 
departed  friend  was  the  soul  of  honor,  and  in  this  distin- 
guished excellence  of  his  character  his  example  should  be 
both  cherished  and  commended. 

I  think  also  that  Mr.  MuTCHLEK's  courage  was  conspicuous. 
The  only  Aladdin's  lamp  that  he  ever  knew  was  the  quench- 
less fire  of  a  heroic  soul  that  no  difficulty  ever  daunted.  His 
courage  never  wavered  before,  an  adverse  cast  of  fortune. 


Life  and  Character  of  William  Mutchler,  31 

He  despised  servility ;  he  spurned  the  collar  of  the  master. 
His  conscience  was  his  harness;  he  wore  no  other.  The  crack 
of  the  boss's  whip  filled  him,  not  with  cringing  terror,  but  with 
sharp,  back-striking  resentment.  He  hated  the  "thrift  that 
follows  fawning."  He  walked  erectin  the  majesty,  dignity,  and 
conscious  rectitude  of  his  manhood. 

In  this  elevated  arena  in  which  he  spent  many  years  of 
useful  service  and  which  was  the  scene  of  his  latest  and  best 
exertions,  he  evinced  on  more  than  one  occasion  the  virile 
qualities  which  have  their  root  in  a  manly  courage.  When 
inspired  by  conviction  and  commanded  by  duty  he  was  a  heroic 
fighter.  The  man  who  broke  a  lance  with  him  was  likely 

To  know  the  joy  that  warriors  feel 
In  foemen  worthy  of  their  steel. 

But  he  had  none  of  the  pride  that  is  ashamed  to  yield  when 
convicted  of  error;  none  of  the  obstinacy  that  delights  in  con- 
tention for  its  own  sake.  He  never  wasted  the  public  time  in 
needless  words.  He  had  the  amazing  courage  to  leave  off  when 
he  was  done,  an  example  which  statesmen  of  high  and  low 
degree  might  imitate  with  profit  to  their  own  and  their  coun- 
try's fame. 

Then  we  have  a  right,  Mr.  Speaker,  to  infer  from  what  has 
been  so  fittingly  said  of  him  that  our  friend  has  been  twice 
ennobled.  Duty  and  death  ennoble  all  men.  Promptitude  and 
unremitting  attention  to  his  public  duties  were  conspicuous 
traits  of  his  character.  To  WILLIAM  MUTCHLER  the  command 
of  duty  was  a  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord." 

In  this  excellence  of  his  character  he  emulated  the  fidelity 
of  the  shipmaster  in  the  story,  who  in  the  midst  of  storms  ever 
kept  his  rudder  true.  And  his  entire  life  exemplified  the  truth 
that  the  path  of  duty  is  always  the  upward  way;  that — 

Not  once  or  twice  in  our  fair  land's  story 
The  path  of  duty  was  the  way  to  glory. 


32      Address  of  Mr.  Wilson,  of  West  Virginia,  on  the 

My  soul,  Mr.  Speaker,  bows  in  adoration  before  the  human 
temple  that  enshrines  the  divinity  of  duty.  These  superb 
characters  are  the  rarest  fruit  of  earth,  and  their  surviving 
countrymen  ought  to  garner  the  fine  vintage  of  their  example 
for  their  perpetual  refreshment. 

So  I  say  in  conclusion,  to  all  whom  it  may  concern  here  or  else- 
where: Time-server,  demagogue,  politician,  calculator,  stand 
aside !  A  faithful  public  servant,  and  an  honest  man,  passes 
to  his  reward. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  WILSON,  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA. 

Mr.  SPEAKER  :  In  rising  to  take  the  very  brief  part  in  this 
memorial  service,  which  alone  is  possible  for  me,  I  respond  not 
less  to  the  suggestions  of  public  duty  than  to  the  prompting  of 
private  friendship.  Had  I  known  Mr.  MUTCHLER  only  in  his 
public  and  official  character,  I  should  feel  myself  fully  justi- 
fied in  speaking  of  him  in  words  of  high  and  unfeigned  eulogy. 
But  it  was  my  privilege  from  my  first  entrance  in  this  House 
to  know  him  well ;  to  welcome  him  after  a  brief  retirement, 
back  into  its  membership,  and  during  all  this  period  to  associ- 
ate with  Mm  on  terms  of  cordial  friendship.  To  myself,  as  to 
all  in  the  circle  of  his  intimate  friends,  his  death  has  been  a 
personal  bereavement;  but  I  am  not  less  convinced  that  it  has 
been  to  his  district,  to  his  State,  and  to  his  country  a  great 
public  loss,  and  it  is  to  WILLIAM  MUTCHLER,  the  member  of 
Congress,  rather  than  to  the  man  and  friend,  that  our  chief 
tribute  here  is  due  and  fitting. 

As  a  legislator  he  belonged  to  that  class  who  take  up  pub- 
lic service  as  a  grave  and  serious  commission;  who  meet  its 
demands  with  a  strong  and  constant  sense  of  personal  duty; 
who  give  to  public  questions  their  best  jind  sinccrest  thought, 


Life  and  Character  of  William  Mutchler.  3& 

and  who  deal  with  them,  not  in  the  spirit  of  self-seeking,  but 
of  dedication  to  the  welfare  of  their  country.  Such  men  wear 
well  at  home,  and  grow  in  influence  in  this  Hall.  No  one  ever 
heard  Mr.  MUTCHLER  speak  here  without  knowing  he  was 
listening  to  the  utterances  of  an  honest  man,  not  the  honesty 
of  ignorance  or  narrowness,  or  the  conclusions  of  haste  and 
carelessness,  but  the  expressions  of  a  thoughtful  inind,  guided 
by  broad  and  patriotic  principles  and  enlightened  by  a  wide 
and  patient  examination  of  facts. 

Such  a  man  faced  his  public  duties  with  simplicity  and 
bravery.  Of  this  the  country  had  a  signal  illustration  in  the 
last  Congress,  when  as  chairman  of  a  subcommittee  it  fell  to 
Mr.  MUTCHLER'S  lot  to  prepare  and  attempt  to  carry  through 
this  House  some  reforms  of  our  pension  system.  He  failed  in 
his  effort,  as  any  other  man  would  have  failed ;  but  few  who 
witnessed  the  long  struggle  will  forget  his  quiet  firmness,  his 
thorough  equipment  for  his  task,  and  the  unfaltering  courage 
with  which  he  took  up  day  after  day  and  attempted  to  per- 
form an  unpopular  duty;  and  to  myself  it  is  a  pleasant  thought 
that,  having  watched  him  daily  in  this  invidious  work,  I  sug- 
gested and  secured  some  acknowledgment  of  his  efforts  in 
one  of  the  leading  papers  of  the  country. 

But  I  will  not  dwell  on  his  merits  or  his  unblemished  record 
as  a  public  servant.  He  was  faithful  to  his  trust,  and  what 
higher  epitaph  can  be  inscribed  on  any  man's  monument?  He 
was  a  thoughtful,  intelligent,  earnest,  and  patriotic  repre- 
sentative of  his  people,  and  their  long  retention  of  him  in  their 
service  is  conclusive  proof  that  they  knew  and  appreciated 
his  worth. 

As  a  man  and  friend  Mr.  MUTCHLER  had  the  sterling  virtues 
of  kindliness,  sincerity,  and  truth. 
H.  Mis.  93 3 


34  Address  of  Mr.  Sayers,  of  Texas,  on  the 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  SAYERS,  OF  TEXAS. 

Mr.  SPEAKER:  Tbe  House  having  p;msed  from  its  current 
labor  to  do  honor  to  the  memory  of  the  departed  member,  Mr. 
Mutchler  of  Pennsylvania,  I  shall  avail  myself  of  the  oppor- 
tunity to  join  in  the  tributes  that  are  being  offered  to  his  char- 
acter and  his  worth,  as  well  in  his  individual  as  in  his  repre- 
sentative capacity. 

To  those  of  us  who  knew  him  in  this  Hall  and  in  the  rooms 
of  the  committees  to  which  he  was  assigned  Mr.  Mutchler  was 
one  who  possessed  our  entire  confidence.  His  every  state- 
ment was  always  accepted  as  the  very  language  of  truth,  and 
upon  the  correctness  of  his  judgment  we  were  accustomed  to 
rely  with  entire  safety.  He  gave  to  his  duties  at  this  capital 
a  conscientious  and  untiring  industry,  and  every  question  that 
claimed  his  consideration  was  so  carefully  and  so  thoroughly 
investigated  in  all  its  phases  that  his  conclusions  were  received 
as  those  of  a  man  who  was  not  only  willing  but  entirely  able  to 
speak  the  truth  in  its  entirety. 

His  manners  were  simple  and  natural,  his  courtesy  to  every 
one  was  unfailing,  and  his  kindliness  of  disposition  gave  con- 
fidence to  all  who  approached  him.  Added  to  these  social 
graces,  which  he  possessed  in  an  eminent  degree,  was  an 
unyielding  integrity  of  character  that  never  forgot  itself, 
whatever  the  presence  in  which  he  chanced  to  stand  or 
however  potent  the  influence  that  was  brought  to  bear  upon 
him.  Kigid  in  his  ideas  as  to  personal  propriety  and  as  to 
professional  and  political  conduct,  he  swerved  neither  to  the 
right  nor  to  the  left,  but  courageously  trod  the  path  along 
which  the  uprightness  of  his  character  bade  him  travel. 

His  mind  was  well  disciplined,  ;md  unless  under  extraordi- 


Life  and  Character  of  William  Miitchler.  35 

nary  circumstances — and  even  then  but  seldom — never  over- 
leaped the  restraints  which  a  careful  training  had  environed 
it  to  indulge  in  waywardness  of  fancy  or  intemperance  of  pas- 
sion. His  was  a  strong  intellect,  possessing  the  ability  to 
absorb,  to  reflect,  and  to  construct.  His  mental  methods  were 
entirely  of  a  practical  kind,  looking  rather  to  substantial  and 
useful  accomplishments  than  to  those  performances  and  crea- 
tions which  glitter  and  attract,  melting  away  into  airy  nothing- 
ness. These  qualities  well  fitted  him  to  be  a  safe  legal  adviser 
and  a  wise  legislator. 

Summing  up  his  character,  I  knew  him  as  a  man  of  strong 
intellect,  without  superficial  adornment,  and  of  an  unbending 
integrity,  embellished  with  an  unusual  grace  of  manner  and 
an  attractive  softness  of  disposition  in  his  whole  intercourse 
with  his  fellows,  of  whatever  degree  in  life. 

It  was  my  good  fortune,  Mr.  Speaker,  to  be  associated  with 
Mr.  Mutchler  during  two  Congresses  upon  the  Committee  on 
Appropriations,  and  during  those  years  we  were  so  thrown 
together  upon  terms  of  close  intimacy  that  I  learned  to  know 
him  welL  His  career  as  a  member  of  this  House  during  the 
Forty-fourth,  Forty- seventh,  Forty-eighth,  Fifty-first,  and 
Fifty-second  Congresses  was  alike  honorable  to  himself  and  to 
the  great  constituency  which  he  represented.  No  constituency 
in  all  this  country  was  better  represented  than  the  people  by 
whom  he  was  thus  honored,  and  but  few  constituencies  have 
been  served  as.  well.  His  reputation  is  solid  and  enduring, 
and  the  manner  of  his  life  at  this  great  capital  and  the  character 
of  his  work  in  this  House  illustrated  an  ideal  republican  sim- 
plicity and  the  highest  and  best  type  of  wise,  sagacious,  and 
practical  statesmanship.  In  his  death,  not  only  his  own  dis- 
trict, not  only  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  but  the  entire  Union 
has  suffered  a  great  loss.  Few  are  the  men  that  could  not 
have  been  better  spared  than  he. 


36  Address  of  Mr.  Saycrs,  of  T^.MVJ-.V,  on  tJic 

Others,  Mr.  Speaker,  well  acquainted  with  him  prior  to  his 
coining  here,  have  spoken  and  will  speak  of  Mr.  MUTCIILER'S 
earlier  life,  its  struggles,  its  embarrassments,  and  its  suc- 
cesses. I  shall  content  myself  with  speaking  of  him  only  as  I 
knew  him  in  the  Fifty-first  and  Fifty-second  Congresses.  His 
entire  career,  from  the  field  of  hard  manual  labor  to  the  judi- 
cial forum,  where  the  greatest  intellectual  effort  is  required  in 
order  to  attain  permanent  success,  thence  through  the  several 
gradations  of  official  life  until  he  reached  this  branch  of  the 
Federal  Congress,  is  worthy  the  highest  commendation,  and 
furnishes  to  the  aspiring  sous  of  America  a  wellspring  of  hope 
and  confidence  that  by  strict  integrity  and  constant  labor  the 
brightest  and  most  substantial  honors  are  surely  within  their 
reach,  however  unpromising  the  lines  of  their  early  youth. 

And  more  than  that,  Mr.  Speaker,  it  creates  and  sustains  a 
well-grounded  belief — aye,  a  sure  certainty — in  every  Ameri- 
can heart  that,  under  the  influence  and  through  the  workings 
of  our  free  institutions,  men  will  continue  to  rise,  as  WILLIAM 
MUTCHLER  rose,  to  take  part  in  our  Federal  councils  and  to 
shape  and  guide  them  for  the  welfare  and  for  the  happiness  of 
the  people.  In  all  sincerity  and  in  entire  truth,  therefore,  can 
it  be  said  of  our  deceased  associate  and  friend  that  his  life 
was,  within  its  limits,  a  rich  blessing  to  his  people,  a  bright 
example  to  his  colaborers  and  to  those  who  are  to  follow  him, 
a  comfort  to  his  friends  and  to  his  family.  And,  finally,  it  may 
be  justly  said  of  this  strong  but  kindly  man,  that — 

His  life  was  gentle,  and  the  elements 

So  mixed' in  him,  that  Nature  might  stand  up 

And  say  to  all  the  world,  "  This  was  a  man  !" 


Life  and  Character  of  William  Mutchler,  37 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  MCALEER,  OF  PENNSYLVANIA, 

Mr.  SPEAKER  :  It  was  not  my  pleasure  to  have  personally 
knowii  the  distinguished  Representative  from  the  Eighth  dis- 
trict as  long  as  some  of  my  colleagues  from  Pennsylvania 
knew  him. 

But  his  name  and  fame  were  well  known  to  the  people  of 
every  city  and  town  throughout  the  State.  In  conjuuction 
with  thousands  of  my  fellow-citizens,  I  felt  a  just  pride  in  the 
distinguished  position  held  by  Mr.  MUTCHLEB  in  the  national 
halls  of  legislation;  taking,  as  he  did,  a  prominent  place 
among  its  ablest  statesmen.  Mr.  MUTCHLER  was  a  man  of 
decided  convictions,  and  when  he  made  up  his  mind  to  his 
course  of  duty,  could  no  more  be  moved  from  it  than  could  the 
hills  of  his  own  State.  He  was  a  Democrat  from  principle, 
believing  implicitly  in  the  teachings  of  his  party.  To  him  it 
was  a  source  of  great  gratification  that  the  district  of  which 
he  was  so  long  the  honored  Representative  had  never  sent  to 
this  House  any  other  than  a  Democrat  to  represent  it  since 
the  foundation  of  the  Government. 

Notwithstanding  this  firmness  in  his  own  convictions  of 
what  he  regarded  as  those  truths  which  would  best  perpetuate 
the  interests  of  his  country,  he  was  always  tolerant  to  those 
who  differed  from  him,  ever  willing  to  concede  to  them  the 
same  rights  which  he  desired  for  himself,  believing  they  were 
governed  by  the  same  true  principles  of  patriotism. 

On  first  meeting  Mr.  MUTCHLER,  after  becoming  a  member  of 
Congress,  I  was  very  much  impressed  with  his  simplicity  of 
manner,  his  kindly  disposition,  and  desire  to  assist  by  his  aid 
and  counsel  those  who  were  inexperienced. 


38      Address  of  Mr.  McAleer,  of  Pennsylvania,  on  the 

No  jealousy  ever  found  its  way  into  his  warm  and  generous 
heart.  On  the  contrary,  he  'was  always  ready  to  lend  a  helping 
hand  in  assisting  a  colleague.  Coming,  as  I  did,  from  a  great 
city  that  required  large  appropriations  for  public  improve- 
ments, I  felt  how  invaluable  his  assistance,  how  unselfish  his 
character.  Although  his  energy,  his  influence,  his  untiring 
work  accomplished  vast  results,  he  never  sought  the  credit 
for  himself.  I  never  knew  a  man  in  public  life  who  was  more 
earnest,  more  conscientious  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties. 
While  a  Pennsylvania!!,  with  a  love  for  his  native  State, 
which  could  not  be  surpassed,  yet  that  strong  and 'patriotic 
love  for  his  whole  country  would  at  all  times  prompt  him  to 
promote  the  interests  of  the  nation  rather  than  his  State  alone. 

Although  for  the  past  few  years  in  feeble  health,  his  interest 
in  public  affairs  never  relaxed.  As  a  member  of  the  Committee 
on  Appropriations,  one  of  the  most  important  of  the  House,  he 
never  shrunk  from  performing  his  share  of  its  arduous  labors. 

While  many  of  us  noticed  his  large  frame  fast  wasting  away, 
we  could  not  believe  that  the  hand  of  death  was  upon  him,  but 
looked  for  an  early  recovery.  As  we  received  messages  of  his 
condition  from  time  to  time,  we  hoped  that  in  the  quiet  of  his 
own  home,  with  a  loving  and  devoted  wife  to  look  after  his  every 
comfort,  that  his  health  would  be  restored.  Vain  hope!  Day 
by  day  he  continued  to  grow  weaker,  and  finally  passed  away  as 
gently  as  a  summer's  day.  When  I  attended  his  funeral  I  was 
much  impressed  by  the  thousands  of  people  who  lined  the  streets 
of  his  beloved  Easton  to  catch  the  last  glimpse  of  all  that 
remained  of  their  honored  neighbor  and  friend.  Sad,  indeed, 
was  this,  each  and  every  one  giving  vent  to  their  feelings  as 
they  recognized  this  to  be  the  last  of  all  on  earth. 

At  his  own  request  he  was  buried  "as  the  sun  went  down" 
beneath  the  hills  he  loved  so  dearly,  and  will  sleep  (lie  sweet 
sleep  of  peace  until  the  resurrection  morn. 


Life  and  Character  of  William  Mutchler.  39 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  WOLVERTON,  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 

Mr.  SPEAKER  :  As  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  delegation 
who  had  the  privilege  of  serving  with  Mr.  MUTCHLER  during 
the  Fifty- second  Congress,  I  can  not  allow  this  occasion  to 
pass  without  adding  a  few  words  as  a  tribute  to  his  memory 
in  addition  to  what  has  been  so  well  said  by  others. 

Mr.  MUTCHLER  was  for  many  years  deservedly  considered  a 
leader  of  his  party  in  Pennsylvania.  He  was  cool,  clear- 
headed, and  conservative,  having  the  good  of  his  party  and 
the  people  of  his  State  at  heart.  His  counsel  was  always 
sought  after  and  had  great  weight  with  all  who  came  in  con- 
tact with  him.  He  was  naturally  and  without  effort  looked  up 
to  as  a  counselor  and  leader. 

He  was  a  Democrat  from  principle,  and  believed  religiously 
that  his  party  embodied  the  true  principles  of  a  representative 
form  of  government.  He  believed  the  success  of  his  party 
was  essential  to  good  government  and  the  prosperity  of  the 
whole  county.  He  was  a  true,  honest,  and  fearless  man  in 
whatever  position  placed.  He  had  convictions  of  his  own 
upon  every  subject  which  came  before  him,  they  controlled 
him  and  he  was  not  afraid  to  express  them,  regardless  of  any 
public  clamor  or  any  fear  of  public  opinion.  He  despised 
demagogy  in  every  form  from  the  bottom  of  his  heart.  One 
of  the  strongest  elements  of  Mr.  MUTCHLER'S  character  was 
his  constitutional  disposition  to  be  fair  to  everyone. 

No  person,  whether  an  opponent  in  his  own  party,  or  of  the 
opposing  political  party,  could  ever  accuse  him  of  duplicity  or 
deception.  He  always  took  his  position,  gave  his  reasons 
and  maintained  them,  fearlessly  and  in  such  open  and  unmis- 
takable manner  that  everyone  knew  where  to  find  him  on  all 


40     Address  of  Mr.  Wolverton,  of  Pennsylvania,  on  the 

occasions.  It  was  this  trait  of  character  perhaps  more  than 
any  other  that  endeared  him  to  friend  and  foe  alike.  He  was 
loyal  to  his  friends  and  fair  to  everyone.  He  naturally 
despised  ambush,  deception,  and  trick  of  every  kind,  but 
respected  an  open  and  fearless  adversary. 

This  trait  of  character  won  for  him  the  respect  and  confi- 
dence of  his  associates  in  Congress  of  every  political  faith. 
His  party  honored  and  respected  him  throughout  his  own 
State,  and  the  people  of  his  own  district  had  frequently  hon- 
ored him  with  a  seat  in  this  body.  His  long  service  here  had 
made  him  familiar  with  his  duties  as  a  member,  and  made  him 
not  only  a  faithful  representative  of  the  people  of  his  district 
and  the  people  of  his  State,  but  a  valuable  member  of  this 
body,  and  one  whose  advice  was  sought  after,  and  whose 
untimely  death  will  be  regretted  by  all  alike. 

Mr.  MUTCHLEB  was  a  plain,  unassuming  man,  not  demon- 
strative. He  dealt  in  facts,  and  was  always  equipped  with 
good  reasons  to  justify  his  acts.  He  accomplished  what  he 
undertook  by  steady  progress  in  his  work  and  intensity  of 
purpose.  He  made  no  pretensions  to  oratory,  but  none  sur- 
passed him  in  making  his  points  clearly  understood  and  in 
carrying  conviction  to  those  who  gave  him  their  attention. 

His  personal,  professional,  and  political  integrity  was  beyond 
the  reach  of  suspicion.  This  was  the  foundation  of  his  influ- 
ence with  the  people  of  his  State  and  district.  In  this  unex- 
pected death  this  body,  the  people  of  his  State  and  district 
have  suffered  a  loss  which  will  be  long  felt,  and  to  us  who 
knew  him  long  and  honored  him  for  his  ability,  integrity,  and 
fairness,  his  memory  will  always  be  dear. 


Life  and  Character  of  William  Mutchler.  41 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  HOLMAN,  OF  INDIANA. 

Mr.  SPEAKER  :  In  the  death  of  WILLIAM  MUTCHLER,  so  long 
an  honored  member  of  this  House,  his  friends  have  lost  a  sin- 
cere, generous,  and  unselfish  friend;  his  constituents,  who 
stood  by  him  with  unfaltering  confidence  for  so  many  years,  a 
wise  counselor  and  an  accomplished  Eepresentative,  and  the 
whole  country  one  of  the  most  valuable  of  its  citizens  engaged 
in  public  affairs. 

I  first  became  acquainted  with  Mr.  MUTCHLER  at  the  open- 
ing of  the  Forty-fourth  Congress.  I  think  I  was  introduced 
to  him  by  Samuel  J.  Randall,  who  so  long  and  honorably  rep- 
resented in  this  House  one  of  the  districts  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  by  his  great  abilities  and  unswerving  integrity  honored 
his  State  and  his  country.  From  my  first  acquaintance  with 
Mr.  MUTCHLER  until  we  parted  at  the  close  of  the  Fifty-sec- 
ond Congress,  we  were  friends.  It  was  always  a  joy  for  me 
to  meet  the  frank,  kindly,  and  courteous  gentleman.  How 
often  have  I  left  my  seat  in  the  House  to  visit  his,  that  I  might 
get  his  views  on  current  affairs!  I  never  consulted  Mr. 
MUTCHLER  without  being  benefited  and  instructed. 

There  was  nothing  sensational  in  his  methods.  As  a  speaker 
there  was  in  his  style  no  attempt  at  what  is  called  oratory,  no 
flights  of  fancy;  he  was  content  with  submitting  facts,  but  he 
presented  his  facts,  and  the  just  and  fair  conclusions  to  be 
drawn  from  them,  with  a  force  and  clearness  I  have  seldom,  if 
ever,  seen  excelled  in  this  Hall. 

Mr.  MUTCHLER  only  occasionally  addressed  the  House;  he 
seldom  mingled  in  the  running  and  generally  unprofitable 
debates  which  constantly  occur,  but  whenever  he  addressed 
the  House  he  at  once  commanded  the  respectful  attention  of 


42  Address  of  Mr.  Holman,  of  Indiana,  on  the 

members  on  both  sides  of  this  Chamber.  He  always  spoke 
with  deliberation;  he  spoke  as  if  the  matter  he  presented  was 
of  such  value  the  House  would  be  glad  to  hear  him;  and  the 
House  always  heard  him  with  pleasure,  even  if  his  views  were 
not  accepted  by  the  House. 

There  was  such  a  manifest  sincerity  and  truthfulness  in  his 
speeches,  such  a  manifest  effort  to  present  the  facts,  without 
any  attempt  or  appearance  of  willingness  to  obscure  the  truth, 
that  commanded  the  respect  and  confidence  of  the  members. 

He  was,  as  a  Representative  in  Congress,  as  he  was  in  social 
life,  a  straightforward,  courteous,  and  accomplished  gentle- 
man, valuing  truth  and  honor  as  beyond  all  price. 

He  was  devoted  to  his  country,  and  as  a  legislator  he  was 
controlled  and  animated  by  a  high  sense  of  its  greatness.  He 
believed  that  it  was  the  duty  of  its  representatives,  under  all 
conditions,  to  uphold  its  honor. 

He  was  hostile  to  every  form  of  favoritism  in  legislation,  and 
demanded  for  the  whole  people  equality  of  rights. 

I  think  this  is  a  just  expression  of  the  views  of  Mr.  MUTCH- 
LEB, as  expressed  in  this  House  during  the  long  period  of  his 
service,  as  to  the  scope  and  duty  of  the  Federal  Government. 
He  adhered  with  unfaltering  fidelity  to  the  views  of  Thomas 
Jefferson  in  relation  to  the  powers  of  the  Federal  system  and 
the  rights  of  the  States. 

But  my  admiration  of  the  character  of  WILLIAM  MUTCHLEB 
was  greatly  increased  during  the  last  Congress.  I  had  the 
honor,  as  then  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Appropriations, 
after  consultation  with  him,  and  with  his  approval,  and  with 
the  approval  of  that  committee,  to  place  him  at  the  head  of  one 
of  the  leading  subcommittees  of  that  committee,  having  in 
charge  one  of  the  most  important  appropriation  l>ills  before 
that  Congress.  Mr.  O'Neil,  of  Massachusetts,  a  gentleman  of 
the  same  sterling  qualities  of  courage  and  manhood  that  char- 
acterized Mr.  MUTCHLEB,  was  one  of  his  associates. 


Life  and  Character  of  William  Mutchler,  43 

Mr.  MUTCHLER  believed  that  radical  reforms  should  be 
organized  in  the  branch  of  the  public  service  under  his  charge. 
While  I  did  not  wholly  sympathize  with  him  in  the  reforms  he 
aimed  at,  I  saw  with  un  bounded  satisfaction  his  patient  and 
untiring  industry  month  after  month  in  pursuing  his  investi- 
gations. He  became  the  complete  master  of  our  pension 
system,  and  made  a  masterly  presentation  of  the  subject  to 
the  House. 

It  was  manifest  that  it  was  indifferent  to  him  whether  the 
views  which  he  found  himself  compelled  to  express  were,  for 
the  time,  popular  or  not.  He  was  manifestly  controlled  by  the 
single  sentiment  of  what  was  just  and  proper  as  between  the 
soldiers  of  the  former  wars  and  the  whole  people. 

The  House  was  manifestly  against  him,  yet  I  have  seldom, 
if  ever,  seen  the  House  listen  so  closely  as  to  the  speech  he 
delivered. 

In  my  last  conversation  with  Mr.  MUTCHLER  he  expressed 
views  in  relation  to  Federal  taxation  for  the  support  of  the 
Government  which  greatly  interested  me.  He  had  intended 
to  bring  them  to  the  attention  of  the  present  Congress.  They 
were  such  views  as  would  give  honor  to  a  strong,  able,  and 
conscientious  man  dealing  with  a  great  public  subject.  I  need 
not  enter  into  the  details. 

When  I  heard  of  his  sickness  and  death  my  sadness  was 
greatly  increased  by  the  fact  that  his  powerful  aid  in  behalf 
of  a  financial  policy  of  the  Government,  which  he  was  confident 
would  be  beneficial  to  the  country,  and  in  which  I  fully  con- 
curred with  him,  was  forever  lost. 

But  WILLIAM  MUTCHLER,  the  clear-headed,  conservative 
legislator,  always  honest  and  sincere,  is  dead.  The  death  of 
such  a  man  in  the  prime  of  life,  a  pure,  upright,  honest  man, 
fully  informed  in  all  that  pertains  to  the  interest  and  welfare 
of  his  country,  is  a  sad  event  from  the  standpoint  of  human 


44      Address  of  Mr.  Erdman,  of  Pennsylvania,  on  the 

intelligence,  but  those  who  believe  that  the  soul  of  man  is 
immortal,  and  that  there  is  an  overruling  Providence,  ail 
Infinite  Spirit,  which  guides  and  directs  the  whole  frame  of 
the  universe,  in  all  of  its  limitless  details,  as  I  do,  will  see  in 
the  death  of  WILLIAM  MUTCHLER  only  the  loss  and  sadness 
of  an  earthly  parting.  A  good  man  is  dead  after  years  of 
usefulness  to  his  fellowmeu  and  his  country.  What  loftier 
realms  of  life  have  been  opened  to  him,  and  soon  will  be  to  us 
all,  the  future  only  will  disclose. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  ERDMAN,  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 

Mr.  SPEAKER  :  In  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
when  the  wave  of  immigration  from  the  Rhine  Palatinate  was 
flowing  toward  the  shores  of  the  New  World,  came  the  ances- 
tors of  WILLIAM  MUTCHLER,  and  found  a  new  home. 

Inured  to  hardships  in  the  trials  anti^  difficulties  of  the 
struggle  to  subdue  the  wild  woods  •  of  Nature,  and  to  bring 
under  control  the  fertile  soil,  the  early  settlers  soon  developed 
the  character  of  the  Pennsylvania  German. 

Of  strong  and  stately  physique,  they  are  swift  in  charity  and 
helpfulness — slow  in  anger.  Lacking  in  the  power  of  aggres- 
sion and  domination,  they  are  forceful  and  masterful  in  attain- 
ing their  ends  and  purposes  by  their  quiet  persistence. 

Humane,  in  so  much  that  the  barns  on  their  fields  are  as 
palaces  compared  with  the  shelter  of  some  people;  so  gener 
ous  that  the  cheer  of  their  households  has  become  proverbial. 
Industrious,  Clod-  fear  ing,  plain,  they  have  increased  and  mul- 
tiplied until  to-day  their  number  is  millions. 

In  naming  the  virtues  of  this  people  that  he  loved  so  well, 
I  have  described  Mr.  MuTCHLKU.  Of  them  he  was  a  true  type. 


Life  and  Character  of  William  Mutchler.  45 

In  early  life  he  was  permitted  to  enjoy  but  sparingly  the 
advantages  of  a  great  institution  of  learning  reared  near  by 
many  years  ago.  While  this  was  a  source  of  great  regret  to 
him,  often  so  expressed,  yet  his  strong  intellect  was  matured 
and  his  mind  well  fortified  by  constant  reading,  observation, 
and  reflection. 

Overcoming  difficulties  which  might  have  appalled  men  of 
less  force  and  energy,  he  found  his  way  to  the  bar. 

As  a  lawyer  and  active  practitioner  he  soon  acquired  a  large 
clientage,  and  became  a  confidential  adviser,  safe  and  reliable, 
rather  than  a  brilliant  orator. 

Hisrare  sound  judgment  and  ripe  legal  attainments  brought 
him  success  and  distinction  at  home  and  in  the  appellate  tri- 
bunal of  his  State. 

While  it  may  not  have  been  his  ambition,  yet  it  was  the 
judgment  and  purpose  of  his  friends,  knowing  full  well  that  he 
possessed  all  the  qualifications,  that  he  should  round  out  the 
full  measure  of  his  useful  life  on  the  bench. 

Endowed  by  nature  with  great  personal  magnetism  and 
those  qualities  which  make  enduring. friendships,  he  entered 
the  field  of  politics.  He  rose  step  by  step,  ever  retaining  the 
confidence  and  esteem  of  his  people  by  an  honest  and  consci- 
entious observance  of  his  duties. 

Kectitude,  fidelity,  and  courage  marked  his  public  life. 
When  once  he  saw  the  right  his  duty  became  plain  and  he 
never  faltered.  Affectation  and  hollow  pretense  were  as  obnox- 
ious to  him  as  sincerity  and  frankness  were  admired.  Had  he 
lived  it  was  his  purpose  to  spend  much  of  his  time  in  the  fur- 
ther investigation  of  pensions.  Actuated  by  the  purest  mo- 
tive, liberal  and  generous  towards  the  deserving,  he  had  the 
courage  to  eliminate  fraud  and  corruption. 

I  recall  how  on  a  dreary  night  in  the  past  winter,  when  the 
subject  under  discussion  was  the  great  mystery  of  life  and 


46      Address  of  Mr.  Breckinridge,  of  Kentucky,  on  the 

death,  infinity  and  eternity,  lie  suddenly  exclaimed:    u 
soon  shall  know  it  all." 

lie  knows  it  now.     Death  has  led  him  into  the  realm  of  light. 

On  a  quiet  afternoon  in  June  there  assembled  a  vast  concourse 
of  his  neighbors  in  the  city  of  Easton  to  pay  him  the  last  trib- 
ute. The  farmer  took  a  brief  respite  from  his  plow,  the  artisan 
from  his  hammer,  and  the  mechanic  from  his  machine.  Genuine 
grief  and  sorrow  were  depicted  on  every  face.  With  the  beau- 
tiful and  simple  rites  of  the  common  service  of  the  church  of  his 
fathers,  he  was  laid  to  rest. 

The  mournful  sounds  of  the  requiem  chant  echoed  back  from 
the  neighboring  hills,  and  the  solemn  pageant  became  but  a 
memory. 

He  sleeps  on  the  banks  of  the  Bushkill  to  await  the  coming 
of  his  Eedeemer. 

After  all,  the  noblest  and  best  that  can  be  said  is,  he  lived 
and  died  a  man  and  a  Christian. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  BRECKINRIDGE,  OF  KENTUCKY. 

Mr.  SPEAKER  :  It  is  one  of  the  sorrows  of  service  in  this  House 
that  the  friendships  made  in  it  have  an  element  of  unusual 
transitoriness.  In  the  comparatively  few  years  during  which 
I  have  served  here  how  few  remain  compared  to  the  large  num- 
ber who  during  those  years  have  held  seats  on  this  floor.  The 
country  is  so  large,  and  the  necessities  for  absorbed  occupa- 
tion so  numerous  that  even  separation  has  an  element  of  final 
parting  scarcely  less  final  than  death.  The  frequency  of  death 
in  this  body  has  grown  with  its  constant  increase  in  number 
until  these  occasions  of  solemn  commemoration  of  the  virtues 
of  our  colleagues  who  have  passed  before  us  to  the  great  here- 


Life  and  Character  of  William  Mutchlcr.  47 

after  and  of  our  own  sense  of  loss  at  their  death  have  become 
so  frequent  that  the  House  has  grown  somewhat  callous,  and 
the  empty  benches  frequently  reveal  that  the  cares  and  duties 
of  life  are  too  intense  to  give  more  than  a  passing  salute  to  the 
soul  of  a  dead  brother. 

To  be  elected  a  Eepresentative  of  the  people  is  of  itself  con- 
clusive proof  of  some  qualities  of  unusual  force,  for  no  district 
composed  of  American  freemen  would  consent  to  be  represented 
by  a  man  without  such  force;  not  that  every  Representative  is 
great  or  necessarily  a  conspicuous  man,  but  he  must  have  a 
certain  force  of  character,  a  certain  power  of  will  and  be  pos- 
sessed of  capacities,  qualities,  and  gifts  which  secure  the  con- 
fidence of  the  people  among  whom  he  lives  to  justify  them  in 
his  election;  and  he  who  in  this  body  rises  to  fair  leadership 
must  necessarily  possess  more  than  the  usual  force  found  among 
his  brethren.  This  is  a  kindly  but  an  exacting  body ;  it  is  gen- 
erous, but  it  gives  its  confidence  slowly;  it  is  friendly,  but  it 
retains  respect  only  for  those  who  deserve  it;  and  if  this  lead- 
ership has  been  acquired  by  one  of  unusual  modesty,  without 
self-seeking,  devoid  of  every  element  of  aggression  for  selfish 
purpose,  this  demonstrates  conclusively  that  it  was  deserved. 

WILLIAM  MTJTCHLER  was  a  rather  striking  demonstration 
of  the  truth  of  these  observations.  I  have  never  served  with 
a  more  modest  man,  nor  with  one  who,  while  he  discharged  his 
duties  faithfully  and  conscientiously,  was  more  disposed  to 
allow  others  leadership,  and  give  to  those  who  deserved  it  con- 
spicuity.  Whatever  of  power,  influence,  or  fame  became  his, 
came  to  him;  he  did  not  seek  them;  and  yet  he  could  have 
served  in  no  body  of  men  in  which  he  would  not  have  gradu- 
ally become  a  member  of  influence  and  weight.  He  was  the 
victim  of  an  exceedingly  bad  system,  by  which  the  counties  of 
his  district  in  alternate  sequence  secured  a  Eepresentative. 
If  he  had  remained  a  member  of  this  body  continuously  from 


48      Address  of  Mr.  Breckinridgc,  of  Kentucky,  on  the 

the  time  he  first  entered  it,  it  is  not  saying  too  much  to  say 
that  lie  would  have  been  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  Repre- 
sentatives, and  would  in  all  probability  have  been  the  Speaker 
of  the  House  and  succeeded  to  the  leadership  of  his  party. 

It  may  not  be  a  wise  custom  of  the  House  that  a  member 
shall  rank  from  his  last  entry,  and  go  to  the  foot  of  the  com- 
mittees to  which  he  is  assigned;  but  such  a  custom  has  pre- 
vailed, and  as  in  every  Congress  nearly  one-third  of  its  mem- 
bers are  new  members,  a  break  in  the  service  here  is  of  great 
injury  to  the  development  and  growth  of  the  power  of  a  Rep- 
resentative. Continuous  service,  with  its  experience,  its  as- 
signments to  the  heads  of  committees,  its  national  reputation, 
and  a  certain  self-assurance  which  comes  with  it,  gives  to  a 
Representative  an  influence  that  is  sometimes  out  of  proportion 
to  his  natural  gifts  or  to  his  acquirements;  mere  expertness  in 
the  rules  of  the  House,  familiarity  with  its  customs,  the  ease 
which  such  assurance  gives,  and  the  position  on  committees 
thus  acquired,  give  weight  that  can  hardly  be  estimated. 

Mr.  MUTCHLER'S  physical  appearance  would  have  made  him 
a  marked  man  anywhere — stalwart  in  form,  broad  of  shoulder, 
deep  of  chest,  with  raven  hair  and  swarthy  complexion,  bright 
and  stable  eye,  mobile  and  expressive  features,  simple  but  self- 
possessed,  and  courteous  towards  others,  gave  him  an  impres- 
sive appearance,  which  both  attracted  and  commanded  respect. 
He  was  a  fine  specimen  of  the  Pennsylvania  Dutchman,  ;i 
handsome  and  attractive  type  of  that  stalwart  and  manly  race, 
which  has  given  to  Pennsylvania  much  of  her  best  blood  and 
her  unusual  and  extraordinary  success.  In  this  physical  casket 
were  incased  a  brain  and  soul  fully  worthy  of  it.  I  served 
with  him  on  the  Committee  on  Appropriations,  and  our  seats 
at  the  committee  table  were  side  by  side;  I  enjoyed  the  hospi- 
tality of  his  elegant  and  sweet  home,  and  I  think  I  had  his 
personal  and  political  confidence. 


Life  and  Character  of  William  Mutchler.  49 

There  were  matters  upoii  which  we  did  not  agree,  there  were 
questions  of  policy  concerning  which  we  saw  differently;  they 
were  the  subject  of  frequent  and  earnest  conference  between 
us;  I  sought  his  advice,  his  company,  and  even  his  assistance. 
He  was  simple,  sincere,  frank,  intelligent,  manly;  he  never 
paltered  with  you,  he  never  used  language  in  a  double  or 
ambiguous  sense;  prudent  and  conservative  in  his  utterances, 
charitable  and  courteous  in  his  judgment  to  those  who  differed 
from  him,  he  was  yet  earnest,  decided,  and  candid.  The  pro- 
cesses of  his  mind  were  absolutely  honest;  he  was  never  self- 
deceived;  the  conclusions  to  which  he  came  were  reached  after 
a  thoughtful  and  honest  meditation,  without  haste  and  with 
patience,  and  not  altogether  free  from  prejudice.  It  was  the 
prejudice  of  a  high-minded  and  noble  nature  seeking  to  do  and 
to  think  what  was  right. 

Courageous  in  his  convictions  as  well  as  in  his  life,  he  was 
yet  moderate  in  his  utterances,  prone  to  seek  common  ground 
of  action  with  those  with  whom  he  in  the  main  agreed.  Always 
clear  in  his  own  conviction,  he  was  yet  tolerant  of  opposition 
in  others  and  careful  to  avoid  any  utterances  which  might 
increase  differences  and  anxious  to  do  whatever  was  honorable 
to  produce  harmonious  action  in  the  party  to  which  he  belonged 
and  the  committee  of  which  he  might  happen  to  be  a  member. 
He  was  in  the  truest  sense  of  the  word  a  lovable  man — gentle, 
thoughtful,  kindly,  always  meeting  you  with  a  smile,  but  it 
was  the  smile  of  a  manly  friend  upon  whose  courage  you  knew 
you  could  depend,  and  upon  whose  manhood  you  felt  you  could 
rely. 

I  deplore  his  death,  not  only  as  a  personal  loss,  but  as  a  loss 
to  the  party  and  to  the  country.  He  had  reached  the  prime  of 
a  matured  intellect;  he  had  secured  the  respect  and  confidence 
of  the  House;  he  had  become  favorably  known  to  the  country; 
he  came  from  a  section  where  the  Democratic  party  needed 
H.  Mis.  93 4 


50      Address  of  Mr.  Brcckinridge,  of  Kentucky,  on  the 

such  a  man;  we  had  come  out  from  opposition  into  tli<>  domain 
of  positive  legislation;  we  were  not  consolidated,  we  had  to 
go  through  the  process  of  fermentation  before  we  became  a 
compact  national  party;  it  seemed  to  me  that  he  would  be  one 
of  the  most  useful  Representatives  on  this  floor;  with  his  gen- 
eral views,  with  his  moderate  nature,  with  his  courage  and 
disposition,  with  his  popular  address,  with  his  gifts  as  a 
speaker,  with  his  perhaps  greater  gifts  at  the  committee  table, 
he  struck  me  as  being  one  of  the  men  the  party  in  the  House 
most  needed,  who  could  do  most  to  nationalize  and  consolidate 
it,  and  that  there  was  before  him  a  conspicuous,  profitable, 
and  useful  career. 

The  Democratic  party  has  needed  and  does  need  men  of 
Northern  environments  of  just  his  type,  and  it  seemed  to  me 
that  he  could  till  a  peculiar  and  needed  position.  Pennsyl- 
vania had  once  been  Democratic;  I  yearned  to  see  it  come  back 
again  as  the  keystone  State  of  the  Democratic  party.  I  trust 
this  is  not  passing  beyond  the  bounds  of  propriety  on  such  an 
occasion  as  this,  for  I  speak  it  respectfully  of  all,  to  whatever 
party  they  may  belong  and  whatever  views  they  may  hold. 
The  views  of  different  sections  are  diverse;  some  common 
ground  must  be  found.  Here  was  a  wise,  conservative,  able, 
moderate  man — would  that  more  were  like  unto  him — and  with 
his  aid  and  the  aid  of  such  the  country  could  be  better  gov- 
erned and  better  served.  His  death,  therefore,  came  as  a 
shock. 

I  mourned  him  as  a  friend,  I  grieved  over  his  death  as  a  col- 
league, I  missed  him  from  the  committee  table,  but  I  deplore 
his  loss  as  a  patriot.  And  I  lay  this  simple  tribute  of  my  judg- 
ment rather  than  of  my  affection  upon  his  grave.  Standing  as 
a  representative  of  the  people  in  this  Hall,  I  record  my  solemn 
conviction  that  in  the  long  list  of  men  who  have  composed  this 
august  body  none  served  the  country  more  faithfully  nor  more 


Life  and  Character  of  William  Mutchler.  51 

conscientiously  nor  lived  a  sweeter,  purer  life  than  he  whose 
place  on  this  floor  has  been  filled  by  a  beloved  son,  but  whose 
place  in  our  hearts  can  be  never  filled  except  by  his  own  image. 


Mr.  EEILLY.  I  now  move  the  adoption  of  the  resolutions  as 
read  from  the  Clerk's  desk. 

The  resolutions  were  agreed  to;  and  in  accordance  with  the 
terms  thereof  (at  3  o'clock  and  45  minutes  p.  m.)  the  House 
adjourned  until  to-morrow,  Friday,  October  20,  at  12  o'clock 
noon. 


PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE  SENATE. 


ANNOUNCEMENT  OF  DEATH. 


AUGUST  31, 1893. 

Mr.  CAMERON.  Mr.  President,  I  ask  that  the  resolutions 
which  came  from  the  House  of  Kepreseutatives  relative  to  the 
death  of  my  late  colleague  in  that  House  be  laid  before  the 
Senate. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  The  Chair  lays  before  the  Senate 
resolutions  from  the  House  of  Representatives,  which  will  be 
read. 

The  Secretary  read  as  follows: 

IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES, 

August  8, 1893. 

Resolved,  That  the  House  has  heard  with  deep  regret  and 
profound  sorrow  of  the  death  of  Hon.  WILLIAM  MUTCHLER, 
late  a  Representative  from  the  State  of  Pennsylvania. 

Resolved,  That  the  Clerk  be  directed  to  communicate  a  copy 
of  these  resolutions  to  the  Senate,  and  send  a  duly  attested 
copy  to  the  widow  of  the  deceased. 

Resolved,  That  as  a  further  mark  of  respect  to  our  deceased 
colleague  the  House  do  now  adjourn. 

Mr.  CAMERON.  Mr.  President,  I  offer  the  resolutions  which 
I  send  to  the  desk,  and  I  desire  to  accompany  them  with  the 
statement  that  at  some  appropriate  time  in  the  future  I  shall 
address  some  remarks  to  the  Senate  in  reference  to  my  late 
colleague  in  the  House  of  Representatives. 

53 


54  Proceedings  in  the  Senate. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  The  resolutions  submitted  by  the 
Senator  from  Pennsylvania  will  be  read. 
The  Secretary  read  as  follows : 

Resolved,  That  the  Senate  has  heard  with  profound  sorrow 
the  announcement  of  the  death  of  Hon.  WILLIAM  MUTCHLER, 
late  a  Bepresentative  from  the  State  of  Pennsylvania. 

Resolved,  That  as  a  mark  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  the 
deceased  the  Senate  do  now  adjourn. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  The  question  is  on  agreeing  to 
the  resolutions. 

The  resolutions  were  unanimously  agreed  to;  and  (at  3 
o'clock  and  13  minutes  p.  m.)  the  Senate  adjourned  until  to- 
morrow, Friday,  September  1,  1893,  at  12  o'clock  m. 


EULOGIES. 


FEBRUARY  8,  1894. 

Mr.  QUAY.  Mr.  President,  I  now  ask,  in  pursuance  of  the 
notice  given  some  days  ago,  that  the  resolutions  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  upon  the  table  of  the  Senate  relative  to  the 
death  of  Hon.  WILLIAM  MUTCHLER,  of  Pennsylvania,  be  laid 
before  the  Senate. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  The  Chair  lays  before  the  Senate 
resolutions  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  which  will  be  read. 

The  Secretary  read  as  follows : 

IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES, 

October  19,  1893. 

Resolved,  That  the  House  has  heard  with  profound  sorrow 
the  announcement  of  the  death  of  Hon.  WILLIAM  MUTCHLER, 
late  a  Representative  from  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
tender  to  his  family  assurances  of  sympathy  in  their  sad 
bereavement. 

Resolved,  That  the  business  of  the  House  be  suspended  that 
opportunity  may  be  given  for  fitting  tribute  to  the  memory  of 
our  deceased  colleague  and  to  his  eminent  public  and  private 
virtues,  and  great  public  services. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  transmitted  to 
the  Senate,  and,  as  a  further  mark  of  respect,  that  uppn  the 
conclusion  of  these  ceremonies  the  House  shall  adjourn. 

Mr.  QUAY.  I  offer  the  resolutions  which  I  send  to  the  desk, 
and  I  ask  their  immediate  consideration. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  The  Senator  from  Pennsylvania 
asks  for  the  immediate  consideration  of  the  resolutions  sub- 
mitted by  him,  which  will  be  read. 

55 


56         Address  of  Mr.  Quay,  of  Pennsylvania,  on  the 
The  Secretary  read  the  resolutions,  as  follows: 

Resolved,  That  the  Senate  has  heard  with  profound  sorrow 
the  announcement  of  the  death  of  Hon.  WILLIAM  MUTCHLER, 
late  a  Representative  from  the  State  of  Pennsylvania. 

Resolved,  That  the  business  of  the  Senate  be  now  suspended, 
in  order  that  fitting  tribute  be  paid  to  his  memory. 

Resolved,  That,  as  an  additional  mark  of  respect,  the  Senate, 
at  the  conclusion  of  these  ceremonies,  do  adjourn. 

The  Senate,  by  unanimous  consent,  proceeded  to  consider 
the  resolutions. 

Mr.  QUAY.  I  ask  that  the  question  may  be  now  put  on  the 
resolutions. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  The  question  is  on  agreeing  to 
the  resolutions  of  the  Senator  from  Pennsylvania,  which  have 
been  read. 

The  resolutions  were  unanimously  agreed  to. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  QUAY,  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT:  Pennsylvania  is  sorely  chastened.  Her 
furnace  fires  are  going  out.  The  wheels  of  her  mills  are  mo- 
tionless. Her  farm  lands  are  shrinking  in  value  and  passing 
into  the  hands  of  the  officers  of  the  law.  Her  labor  is  unem- 
ployed and  in  a  condition  of  tremulous  and  dangerous  unrest. 
Not  many  days  ago  some  of  her  citizens  were  compelled  to 
defend  with  armed  hands  their  lives  and  property  from  a  mob 
of  hungry  men  at  the  cost  of  the  shedding  of  blood.  To  this 
distress  is  added  a  deeper  affliction.  It  is  not  likely  it  has 
ever  occurred  since  the  establishment  of  this  Government  that 
in  any  delegation  to  Congress  from  any  State  a  mortality  so 
sudden  and  appalling  has  been  experienced  as  that  which 
Pennsylvania  has  encountered.  Of  her  thirty  Representatives 
elected  to  the  Fifty-third  Congress,  three  have  been  borne 


Life  and  Character  of  William.  Mutchler.  57 

hence  to  be  laid  in  the  earth  while  we  are  yet  upon  the  outer 
threshold  of  our  deliberations. 

The  eastern  portion  of  Pennsylvania,  lying  between  the 
Susquehanna  and  the  Upper  Delaware,  was  settled  by  pio- 
neers of  two  distinct  races.  The  Protestant-Irish  came  in  from 
the  north  of  Ireland  very  soon  after  the  colonization  by  William 
Penn.  They  were  hardy,  aggressive,  bold,  and  enterprising, 
and  held  with  their  rifles  the  outer  borders  of  the  colony. 
They  constituted  the  skirmish  line  of  our  advancing  civiliza- 
tion and  followed  the  frontier  as  it  pushed  westward  and 
southward,  drifting  through  the  valley  of  Virginia  into  the 
Carolinas,  pressing  the  Frenchman  and  the  savage  beyond  the 
Ohio,  and  floating  down  its  waters  to  Kentucky  and  Tennessee 
with  little  attachment  to  locality  and  ready  abandonment  of 
their  earliest  settlements. 

An  entirely  different  population  came  out  of  Germany  into 
the  same  region  and  at  about  the  same  period.  These  were 
frugal  and  industrious,  obdurate  and  resolute  in  the  defense 
of  their  rights.  They  were  patriotic,  intelligent,  and  coura- 
geous. Their  names  are  on  the  rolls  of  our  chief  executives 
and  our  judiciary,  and  are  bright  in  the  military  history  of  all 
the  wars  in  which  Pennsylvania  has  borne  arms  as  colony  and 
Commonwealth.  They  were  sedentary;  where  they  kindled 
their  fires  and  made  their  clearings  nearly  two  centuries  ago 
most  of  their  descendants  live  to-day.  Estates  are  held 
amongst  them  for  which  not  a  title  deed  has  passed  since 
the  proprietary  grant  to  the  original  settler. 

The  Scotch-Irish  have  largely  passed  into  other  regions,  but 
the  Pennsylvania  Germans  populate  the  fertile  valleys  their 
fathers  tilled,  now  smiling  with  plenty,  with  ideas,  manners,  and 
language  to  a  large  extent  unchanged.  It  was  to  the  latter 
class  of  our  population  that  my  late  colleague  in  the  other 
House  of  Congress,  the  Hon.  WILLIAM  MUTCHLER,  belonged. 


58         Address  of  Mr,  Quay,  of  Pennsylvania,  on  the 

He  was  a  descendant  from  the  earliest  settlers  of  eastern 
Pennsylvania. 

Mr.  MUTCHLER  was  born  December  21, 1832,  at  Chain  Dain, 
Northampton  County,  Pa.,  and  died  at  his  home  in  Easton, 
Pa.,  on  the  23d  of  June,  1893. 

He  was  but  7  years  old  at  the  death  of  his  father,  and  upon 
him  and  his  brothers  devolved  the  support  of  his  mother.  By 
the  proceeds  of  his  own  industry  he  acquired  a  classical  educa- 
tion, and  close  application  and  natural  talent  soon  made  him 
familiar  with  the  arts  and  polite  literature.  He  studied 
law  in  the  office  of  his  brother,  and  shortly  after  qualifying 
himself  for  the  practice  of  his  profession  he  entered  the  office 
of  the  sheriff  of  his  county,  where  he  served  for  a  number  of 
years.  He  was  twice  elected  prothonotary  of  his  county,  but 
resigned  during  his  second  term  to  accept  an  appointment  in 
the  internal-revenue  department. 

In  politics,  Mr.  MUTCHLER  was  a  Democrat  and  attained 
prominence  in  the  councils  of  his  party.  He  was  first  elected 
to  the  Forty-fourth  Congress,  and  after  an  interval  he  was 
chosen  as  a  Representative  to  the  Forty-seventh,  Fifty-first, 
Fifty-second,  and  Fifty-third  Congresses.  At  the  time  of  his 
death  he  represented  the  Eighth  Congressional  district  of 
Pennsylania,  comprising  the  counties  of  Carbon,  Monroe,  Pike, 
and  Northampton. 

It  was  in  1869  that  I  first  met  Mr.  MUTCHLER.  He  was  then 
chairman  of  the  Democratic  State  Committee  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  I  had  the  honor  to  occupy  an  important  position  in  the 
organization  of  the  party  to  which  1  belong.  The  campaign 
was  perplexing,  but  Mr.  MUTCHLER  conducted  the  affairs  of 
his  committee  with  admitted  ability.  After  that  campaign  he 
\va>  not  to  any  great  extent  within  my  observation,  but  I  under- 
stand that  he  resumed  the  practice  of  law  and  gained  a  high 
and  honorable  position  at  the  bar. 


Life  and  Character  of  William  Mutchler.  59 

During  his  Congressional  service  he  was  to  the  best  of  my 
recollection  always  a  Pennsylvanian,  wedded  absolutely  to 
what  he  considered  to  be  the  interests  of  his  district  and  of  his 
State.  With  the  people  of  his  Congressional  district  he  was 
extremely  popular.  An  evidence  of  the  esteem  in  which  he 
was  held  by  his  constituents  was  shown  when  they  selected 
without  contest  his  son,  Hon.  HOWARD  MUTCHLER,  to  fill  the 
seat  made  vacant  by  the  death  of  my  late  colleague. 

As  I  have  intimated,  my  acquaintance  with  my  deceased 
colleague  was  of  the  slightest  character,  and  of  the  many  ex- 
cellent qualities  he  is  said  to  have  possessed  I  have  had  no 
personal  knowledge  or  experience.  Therefore,  as  to  his  per- 
sonal characteristics,  it  is  not  improper  that  I  should  quote 
from  a  tribute  paid  to  Mr.  MUTCHLER'S  memory  by  a  fellow- 
member  of  the  other  branch  of  Congress,  whose  relations  with 
him  were  of  the  closest  nature : 

As  a  lawyer  he  brought  to  the  practice  of  his  profession  a 
zeal  and  fidelity  that  made  his  client's  cause  his  own.  Honor- 
able and  honest  in  all  his  dealings  with  court  and  client,  he 
enjoyed  the  respect  of  all,  and  the  eloquent  and  sincere  tribute 
of  the  bench  and  bar  of  his  county  at  the  time  of  his  death 
is  the  highest  testimonial  of  his  standing  with  them.  He  was 
of  sound  judgment;  studious  and  painstaking  to  seek  the 
right,  and  untiring  in  his  efforts  to  sustain  it. 

Mr.  MUTCHLER  was  a  man  of  kindly  disposition,  social  and 
generous  in  all  of  his  relations.  He  was  a  most  devoted  hus- 
band and  affectionate  father,  who  idolized  his  family  and  who 
worshipped  at  the  hearthstone  as  an  altar.  As  a  friend  he 
was  sincere,  unflinching,  and  unswerving  in  that  loyalty  that 
he  made  his  own  standard  of  friendship;  and  as  a  man  he  was 
broad  and  charitable  enough  to  make  all  mankind  love  him. 
He  was  a  great  lover  of  nature  in  all  its  phases,  and  found  much 
pleasure  in  communing  with  it  in  all  its  forms.  He  seemed 
desirous  of  delving  into  and  unraveling  all  the  great  mysteries 
of  nature  which  surround  us,  and  its  study  was  a  source  of 
interest  and  pleasure  to  him.  He  was  of  that  disposition  that 
could  "  find  tongues  in  trees,  books  in  the  running  brook,  ser- 
mons in  stones,  and  good  in  everything." 


60          Address  of  Mr.  Mitchell,  of  Wisconsin,  on  the 

A  subject  of  especial  interest  to  him,  and  one  upon  which  he 
loved  to  dilate,  was  the  science  of  astronomy,  with  which  he 
was  quite  familiar.  To  read  the  stars,  to  watch  the  course  of 
the  planets,  to  admire  all  the  grandeur  and  beauties  and  won- 
ders of  the  heavens,  was  always  a  matter  of  enjoyment,  and 
nothing  afforded  him  more  genuine  pleasure  than  on  a  clear 
night  when  the  heavens  were  brilliantly  studded  to  visit  the 
observatory,  and,  with  the  aid  of  a  powerful  telescope,  look  in 
admiring  wonder  on  the  grand  panorama  there  presented.  The 
heavens  seemed  to  have  an  especial  attraction  for  his  mind, 
and  the  sun,  that  "great  orb  of  day,"  the  fountain  of  all  light 
and  life,  challenged  his  unbounded  admiration,  and  often  he 
expressed  the  wish:  "When  I  die  bury  me  with  the  setting  of 
the  sun."  This  wish  of  their  lamented  dead  was  gratified  by 
his  family  and  friends,  and  as  the  last  remains  of  WILLIAM 
MUTCHLER  were  lowered  into  the  cold  and  silent  grave  in  the 
beautiful  cemetery  near  his  home  the  sun  was  sinking  below 
the  western  horizon. 

This  eulogium,  Mr.  President,  I  believe  to  be  just  as  it  is 
generous. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  MITCHELL,  OF  WISCONSIN. 

Mr.  PBESIDENT:  As  stated  by  the  Senator  from  Pennsyl- 
vania, Mr.  WILLIAM  MUTCHLER  was  born  sixty-two  years  ago 
near  Easton,  Pa.  His  people  were  farmers.  The  early  loss  of 
his  father  threw  him  upon  his  own  resources.  The  support  of 
a  widowed  mother  devolved  upon  an  elder  brother  and  himself. 
A  hard  struggle  for  existence  gave  him  a  self  reliance  which 
became  a  predominant  characteristic,  and  the  pinch  of  pov- 
erty in  his  youth  taught  him  a  sympathetic  humanity  which 
made  him  universally  beloved.  From  the  farm  to  the  academy ; 
from  the  scholar's  desk  to  the  lawyer's  study ;  from  the  law 
ottice  to  a  seat  iu  the  House  of  Representatives — these  are  the 
successive  steps  which  mark  Mi'.  Mi.'TCiiLKifs  career. 


Life  and  Character  of  William  Mutchler.  61 

Mr.  MUTCHLER  served  some  six  terms  in  Congress.  A 
neighbor  of  his  gives  with  friendly  warmth  of  expression  the 
secret  of  his  political  strength: 

The  confidence  of  those  who  have  political  power  to  bestow 
lie  obtained  early  and  held  fast.  It  is  a  plant  of  slow  growth, 
but  when  its  roots  take  hold  it  is  sturdier  than  the  forest  oak. 
He  acquired  that  confidence  because  he  deserved  it.  Even 
from  the  beginning  the  people  trusted  his  honesty  no  less  than 
his  judgment,  and  he  never  deceived  them.  In  the  heated 
conflicts  for  political  supremacy,  which  he  so  long  maintained, 
adversaries  stubbornly  fought,  criticised,  censured,  often  tra- 
duced; so  was  it  ever.  But  when  the  fight  was  ended  and 
the  temper  cooled,  it  was  seen  the  popular  will  went  not  astray. 
He  was  strongly  conservative;  those  he  represented  were  not 
quick  to  adopt  new  beliefs;  he  waited  until  they  were  ready 
to  accept  new  forms  and  a  new  faith,  and  when  he  pushed 
onward  they  knew  the  time  had  come. 

He  was  in  closest  touch  with  the  material  interests  of  his 
State  and  country;  he  often  stood  in  the  minority,  but  not  for 
temporary  advantage  would  he  surrender  conviction,  and  time 
was  his  avenger.  It  was  sometimes  thought  he  was  a  master 
in  political  art,  but  the  secret  of  his  success  lay  upon  the  sur- 
face; his  long  ascendancy  was  maintained  because  he  was 
honest.  His  enemies  sought  for  the  key  as  if  concealed  in  the 
meshes  of  a  diplomatic  skill,  or  looked  for  wires  which  they 
conceived  turned  the  distant  switches.  But  honesty  is  some- 
times the  best  policy,  even  in  politics.  His  word  was  truth 
itself^  he  never  made  a  political  promise  that  he  did  not  keep, 
if  he  could,  with  the  same  observance  as  a  personal  bond. 
Others  have  maintained  brief  power,  but  they  were  willing  to 
sacrifice  friends  to  placate  enemies,  and  now  their  names  are 
writ  in  water. 

At  the  opening  of  the  Fifty-second  Congress  I  met  Mr. 
MUTCHLER  for  the  first  time.  The  Democratic  members  were 
then  up  in  arms  over  the  Speakership.  Mr.  MUTCHLER  and  I 
found  ourselves  in  the  camp  of  Mr.  Mills,  now  the  brilliant 
Senator  from  Texas.  At  our  frequent  consultations  Mr. 
MUTCHLER  attracted  me.  His  hair  of  raven  black,  his 
swarthy  hue,  his  prominent  features  and  deep  set  eyes,  together 
with  the  gravity  of  his  countenance,  overspread  at  times  with 
a  look  of  sadness,  made  his  an  impressive  face.  The  earnest- 


62          Address  of  Mr.  Mitchell,  of  Wisconsin,  on  the 

ness  of  his  utterances  and  the  perfect  serenity  of  his  temper 
drew  me  toward  him.  I  sought  an  acquaintance  and  secured 
a  friend.  When  our  leader  went  down  in  the  conflict,  from 
Mr.  MUTCHLER  there  came  no  murmur  of  discontent.  There 
was  no  chafing  about  committee  appointments,  for  hewas  made 
of  knightly  stuff',  and  he  enlisted  at  once  right  loyally  under 
the  banner  of  his  party's  chosen  chieftain. 

The  organization  of  the  Democratic  Congressional  committee 
brought  me  into  intimate  association  with  Mr.  MUTCHLER. 
Few  of  the  members  of  the  committee  took  their  duties  seriously. 
•Attendance  at  a  meeting  or  two  and  the  subject  passed  out  of 
mind.  Not  so  with  Mr.  MUTCHLER.  Not  a  meeting  did  he 
miss.  There  he  stood  with  his  native  sagacity,  reenforced  by 
a  wealth  of  political  experience,  ever  ready  to  advance  the 
interests  of  his  party.  In  the  last  Congress,  Mr.  MUTCHLER 
was  charged  by  the  Committee  on  Appropriations  with  the 
conduct  and  defense  of  the  pension  bill.  Conscientious,  scrupu- 
lously exact,  his  statements  commanded  the  confidence  of  the 
House.  With  him  the  consideration  of  this  measure,  carrying 
many  millions,  was  not  a  mere  matter  of  money  to  be  expended. 
Into  his  advocacy  of  the  bill  he  threw  a  patriot's  fervor.  Said 
he,  speaking  of  the  pensioners: 

The  names  of  these  men  are  found  among  those  who,  when 
the  life  of  the  Eepublic  was  in  peril,  went  forth  to  meet  the 
foe  and  nobly  saved  it  from  dismemberment  and  destruction. 
And  who  will  say  that  they  ought  not  now  to  be  provided  for 
out  of  the  abundant  revenues  of  that  Government  which,  only 
for  them,  would  be  but  a  fragment  of  its  former  self,  and  whose 
glory  and  magnificence  would  be  in  fragments  also?  I  repeat, 
who  will  claim  that  the  Government  is  doing  better  by  the  old 
soldier  than  he  deserves?  1  do  not  understand  that  our  Dem- 
ocratic brethren  really  claim  this.  They  scold  about  the  enor- 
mous appropriations  for  pensions.  *  *  *  They  criticise  the 
administration  of  the  Pension  Bureau  and  clamor  for  investi- 
gation, which  every  one  is  willing  they  should  have.  *  *  * 

In  short,  they  keep  up  a  sort  of  running  tire  on  the  subject, 
suggesting  fraud,  extravagance,  and  the  political  use  of  the 


Life  and  Character  of  William  Mutchler.  63 

Pension  Bureau,  none  of  which  they  prove,  however ;  but  I  do 
not  understand  anyone  in  this  Hall,  and  but  few  throughout 
the  country,  North  or  South,  have  the  hardihood  to  deny  that 
the  Union  soldier  is  entitled  not  only  to  a  liberal  pension,  but 
to  the  thanks  of  the  American  people,  and  especially  the 
thanks  of  those  whom  he  met  and  overcame  on  the  field  of 
strife,  for  now  they  realize  that  this  great  country  is  not  only 
a  splendid  but  a  happy  land — more  splendid  and  happy  th#n 
any  that  could  have  been  built  out  of  any  portion  of  it. 

"Bury  me  at  the  setting  of  the  sun."  These  were  Mr. 
MUTCHLER'S  parting  words.  This  pathetic  injunction  was  ten- 
derly observed,  and  now  upon  his  grave  fall  thick  the  perfected 
flowers  of  eloquence.  I  ask  the  privilege  to  place  among  them 
my  simple  tribute  of  aifection  and  respect  for  the  man,  the 
legislator,  and  the  patriot. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  HANSBROUGH,  OF  NORTH  DAKOTA. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT  :  My  acquaintance  with  WILLIAM  MUTCH- 
LER was  not  of  that  intimate  character  that  usually  grows  out 
of  long  and  close  association ;  yet  it  was  more  than  a  casual 
acquaintance.  I  saw  him  almost  every  day  as  a  member  of  the 
Fifty-first  Congress,  and  came  in  contact  with  him  so  far  as  to 
feel  that  he  was  a  man  of  many  rare  good  qualities.  There 
are  those  in  this  Chamber,  however,  knowing  him  intimately 
through  many  years,  who  are  better  able  than  I  to  pay  tribute 
to  his  memory. 

As  I  knew  him  he  was  a  quiet,  unassuming  gentleman, 
always  frank  and  courteous.  He  impressed  me  as  a  person 
embodying  also  those  other  admirable  attributes,  honesty  and 
sincerity.  To  my  mind  there  should  be  a  joyous  future  for 
such  a  character — a  bright  hereafter  filled  with  perpetual 
peace;  and,  reasoning  thus,  I  believe  there  is.  Is  it  so  with 
him  who  has  pursued  a  life  the  exact  reverse  of  the  one  I  have 


64    Address  of  Mr.  Hansbrough,  of  North  Dakota,  on  the 

described?  It  is  difficult  to  believe  it.  But  of  this  it  was  not 
designed  that  mortal  man  should  know.  Science  lias  failed  to 
find  it  out;  philosophy  is  content  to  speculate. 

After  all,  why  should  we  consume  the  short  hours  of  our 
lives  in  attempting  to  go  further  than  to  deserve  the  best  that 
the  mysterious  future  may  have  in  store  for  the  deserving? 
The  ardent  aspiration  of  man  to  peer  beyond  the  curtains  that 
shut  out  eternity  has  never  been  rewarded.  A  modern  essay 
ist,  who  was  asked  what  became  of  spiritual  man  after  death, 
replied  by  igniting  a  match,  and  when  only  the  charred  stem 
remained,  he  said:  "If  you  will  tell  me  where  the  flame  we 
just  saw  has  gone,  I  will  give  you  a  theory  concerning  the 
final  abode  of  the  soul."  The  questioner  was  silent.  Had  he 
been  a  less  thoughtful  man  he  would  have  reminded  the  essay- 
ist that  the  flame  had  simply  "gone  out,"  and  the  essayist 
would  have  replied,  "So  does  the  light  of  man  go  out." 

The  ancients  knew  as  much  as  this.  They,  too,  believed  a 
great  deal  more  in  regard  to  the  future  state  than  we  claim  to 
believe.  And  they  came  quite  as  near  verifying  it.  The  soul 
which  passed  the  trying  ordeal  before  Osiris  secured  a  blissful 
and  eternal  rest,  according  to  the  code  of  Egyptian  morals,  but 
it  was  obliged  to  defend  itself  in  no  unmistakable  terms.  "I 
have  not  been  idle;  I  have  not  been  intoxicated;  I  have  not 
told  secrets ;  I  have  not  told  falsehoods ;  I  have  not  defrauded ; 
I  have  not  slandered ;  I  have  not  caused  tears ;  I  have  given 
food  to  the  hungry,  drink  to  the  thirsty,  and  clothes  to  the 
naked."  These  were  the  credentials  upon  which  the  spirit  of 
the  Xile  dweller  rested  its  case  before  the  bar  of  eternal  judg- 
ment. Four  thousand  years  have  elapsed  since  this  catechism 
came  in  vogue.  The  human  mind  seems  to  have  been  as  capa- 
ble of  ideals  and  ideas  at  that  date  as  it  is  now.  There  is 
greater  simplicity  perhaps  since  the  world  became  steadied  by 
Christianity,  but  there  has  been  indifferent  progress  toward 
the  absolute  certainty  of  the  spirit's  destiny. 


Life  and  Character  of  William  Mutchler.  65 

Applicants  for  admission  at  the  portals  of  eternity  in  our  time 
must  have  obeyed  the  Ten  Commandments,  just  as  the  devout 
Egyptian  who  passed  before  Osiris  had  obeyed  his  ritual  for 
the  soul's  journey  beyond  the  tomb. 

It  was  the  eternal  hope  and  belief  of  the  Hindoo  a  thousand 
years  before  Christ  that  the  righteous  would  be  glorified  by 
absorption  as  a  part  of  the  Supreme  Being.  Few  modern 
theologians  can  picture  a  more  beautiful  condition  ;  nor  will 
they  advance  a  more  reasonable  solution  of  the  after  life. 

When  the  Buddhists,  as  they  aimed  to  do,  "reformed"  the 
Brahmin  faith,  they  laid  d»wn  six  transcendent  virtues — alms, 
morals,  science,  energy,  patience,  and  charity.  These  were 
their  stepping  stones  to  eternal  repose.  A  thousand  years  later 
Constantine  espied  the  flaming  cross  in  the  midday  sky,  and 
though  the  emblem  of  faith  has  been  carried  in  triumph  to  every 
spot  upon  this  globe  our  struggles  toward  a  higher  and  better 
estate  upon  earth  have  not  yet  opened  the  door  upon  the  future 
so  that  we  may  see  within. 

But  there  has  been  some  progress.  In  the  midst  of  a  great 
diversity  and  a  wide  disparity  of  faiths  hope  has  grown  stronger. 
There  has  been  much  reasoning.  We  are  drawn  to  a  common 
conclusion  concerning  the  after  world  by  what  we  know  of  that 
which  has  passed.  With  the  dawning  of  an  age  full  of  practi- 
cal things  the  footing  of  the  faithful  has  become  firmer.  The 
basis  of  belief  has  broadened. 

So  that  when  we  stand  at  the  grave  of  our  departed  friend  we 
regret  but  do  not  mourn  his  loss,  for,  with  the  record  of  his 
good  deeds  before  us  and  knowing  that  he  led  an  upright  life, 
our  intuition  teaches  us  that  his  compensation  is  full  and  com- 
plete. By  whatsoever  theory  we  may  contrive  to  satisfy  our 
natural  curiosity  as  to  his  spiritual  condition  we  are  doomed 
eventually  to  confess  our  helplessness.  If  we  know  that  his  was 
a  correct  life  that  seems  to  be  all  that  we  are  to  know.  The 
H.  Mis.  93 5 


•66         Address  of  Mr.  Hansbrongh,  of  North  Dakota. 

rest  may  safely  be  left  with  the  Giver  of  all  Good.  It  is  enough 
for  us,  as  Pindar  has  stated  it,  that — 

All  human  bodies  yield  to  death's  decree, 
The  soul  survives  to  all  eternity. 


The  PRESIDING  OFFICER  (Mr.  Gallinger  in  the  chair).  Under 
the  last  of  the  series  of  resolutions  adopted  the  Senate  stands 
adjourned. 

Accordingly  (at  3  o'clock  and  25  minutes  p.  m.)  the  Senate 
adjourned  until  Monday,  February  12,  1894,  at  12  o'clock  m. 


FUNERAL   SERMON. 


REV.    MAYNE. 
ONE  HUNDRED  AND  THIRTY-EIGHTH  PSALM.     EIGHTH  VERSE. 

"  The  Lord  will  perfect  that  which  concerneth  me." 

Grace  be  unto  you  and  peace  from  God  the  Father  and  our 
Lord  and  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ,  Amen. 

"Bury  me  at  the  setting  of  the  sun."  We  are  here,  my 
friends,  to  put  this  the  frequently  expressed,  touching  and 
long  cherished  wish  of  the  distinguished  dead  now  into  exe- 
cution. The  dead — the  husband,  the  father,  the  friend,  the 
man,  the  Congressman. 

«  It  needs  not  that  I  should  laud  to-day  him  whom  death  has 
claimed.  No  tongue,  however  eloquent,  can  do  justice  to  a 
great  and  good  life.  Such  a  life  speaks  its  own  eulogy.  It 
proclaims  its  own  true,  just  and  all-sufficient  praise,  and  the 
sentiment  it  utters  must  stand  forever  undisputed  and  uncon- 
tradicted. 

Mr.  MUTCHLER  was  a  man  with  a  life's  mission.  A  mission 
such  as  men  adopt  as  their  calling  voluntarily  yet  uncon- 
sciously guided  in  their  selection  by  the  invisible  hand  of 
Divine  providence,  and  the  will  of  Divine  omniscience.  For 
his  mission  to  which  God,  through  the  voice  of  the  people, 
called  him  to  a  career  extending  over  a  period  of  forty  years 
of  public  services,  He  eminently  endowed  him.  Physically, 
it  needed  but  that  the  toga  should  be  thrown  about  his 

67 


68  -  Funeral  Sermon, 

shoulders  and  be  would  have  been  an  ideal  Roman  Senator. 
Mentally,  He  gave  him  the  mind  and  genius  of  a  statesman. 
Morally,  He  made  him  the  soul  of  honor.  Spiritually,  He 
made  him  a  man  whose  religion  was  not  in  the  meaningless 
words  of  the  tongue,  but  within  himself,  in  his  proud  bosom. 
With  the  energy  of  which  his  combined  nature  was  capable, 
he  betook  himself  to  the  work  of  fulfilling  his  solemn  trust. 

I  can  not  banish  from  my  own  mind  the  thought  that  has 
been  uppermost  in  the  minds  of  thousands  since  his  death; 
that,  humanly  thinking  and  speaking,  death  claimed  him  all 
too  soon. 

Too  soon  for  himself  and  his  ambition — an  ambition  pure 
and  unselfish,  cherished  alone  for  the  good  he  might  do.  As 
one  dear  to  his  heart,  the  son  of  his  heart,  the  son  of  his  own 
bosom,  said  a  day  ago — "  it  seemed  that  father  had  just  thrown 
up  his  hand  and  grasped  the  top  round  of  the  ladder  of  his 
ambition." 

His  star  was  indeed  in  the  ascendency.  It  crept  up  slowly, 
yet  none  the  less  surely,  over  the  horizon,  and  up  the  east-  • 
ern  heavens  to  take  its  place  in  the  galaxy  of  great  men  which 
shine  in  the  firmament  of  our  country.  He  died  too  soon  for 
the  nation  to  the  maintenance  of  whose  honor  and  well-being 
he  consecrated  himself.  Too  soon,  all  too  soon,  for  the  gallant 
constituency  whom  he  served  so  long  and  so  well,  and  who 
placed  implicit  trust  and  unlimited  confidence  in  his  integrity 
and  ability. 

His  life  work,  then,  seems  to  stand  before  us  in  this  hour 
like  a  proud,  yet  uncompleted  temple — a  temple,  though  in- 
complete, yet  bearing  in  every  arch  and  pillar,  anglrand  stone, 
the  marks  of  a  master  builder. 

And  although  God  hasbiddrn  tln>  workman  stop,  with  what 
haste  have  men — great  men — far  and  near  hurried  to  do  honor 
to  his  memory  and  bring  tributes  to  his  worth. 


Funeral  Sermon.  69 

These  gracious  words  are  uttered  by  men  not  strangers  to 
him,  but  men  who  stood  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  him  in  the 
momentous  affairs  of  state  and  politics,  or  faced  him — the 
chivalrous  antagonist  he  was — in  the  bitter  conflict  of  political 
warfare.  Surely  their  praise  must  be  just,  their  garlands 
unfading!  I  will  let  them  speak  now.  Hear  them.  They  are 
worthy  of  your  attention :  "  His  was  a  grand  and  unsullied 
life."  "  He  was  a  man  of  integrity  and  honor."  "An  earnest, 
honest,  faithful  man."  "A  man  of  elevated  purpose."  "A 
man  of  loyal  heart."  "A  faithful,  fearless  Representative." 
"He  was  one  of  the  most  able  and  efficient  members  of  Con- 
gress." "  Randall  alone  was  his  equal."  This  is  praise  indeed, 
my  friends ! 

Such  a  structure  as  he  builded  can  not  remain  unfinished. 
That  which  the  passage  of  God's  holy  word  which  I  have 
quoted  foreshadows  shall  not  fail,  for  "God  will  perfect  that 
which  concerneth  him."  I  can  well  see  how  a  structure  reared 
on  foundations  of  sand  and  built  of  stones  with  nothing  to 
bind  them  together,  must  fall  when  two  or  three  storms  have 
spent  their  fury  upon  it.  But,  oh,  my  friends,  a  structure 
whose  foundations  rest  upon  the  solid  rock  of  principle,  in 
which  every  stone  is  cemented  and  bound  to  the  other,  in  solid 
compact  mass,  will  defy  the  storm.  Such  a  structure,  I  say, 
must  endure  through  the  years. 

It  never  can  be,  that  a  noble  life  well  spent,  whatever  its 
sphere  may  have  been,  shall  be  despoiled  of  its  glory  or  lost 
in  its  effect.  That  life  is  hidden  in  the  hand  of  God  and  it 
rests  secure  there. 

And  in  this  confident  assurance  lies  the  answer  to  the  ques- 
tion so  often  asked  with  apparent  anxiety  in  these  days,  "who 
shall  succeed  him?"  and  who  shall  represent  with  equal  pro- 
ficiency, satisfaction,  and  honor  the  important  Eighth  district 
in  Congress?  It  may  be  years;  it  must  be  years  before  that 
can  be  possible,  but  the  man  will  be  found. 


70  Funeral  Sermon. 

Is  he  within  reach  of  my  voice  to-day  ?  Then  let  him  mark 
the  nobility  of  the  heritage  which  this  death  brings  him.  If 
the  mantle  of  the  distinguished  Eepresentative  has  fallen  upon 
him.  let  him  not  forget  that  it  is  only  by  the  decree  of  a  Divine 
Providence  that  a  door  so  eminent  as  this  stands  open  before 
him.  For  I  venture  to  say  that  had  Mr.  MUTCHLER  lived 
twenty  years  longer  he  would  have  died  a  Congressman  still, 
and  that,  too,  one  in  continuous  and  uninterrupted  service. 
Before  the  force  of  a  pure,  able,  strong  political  life,  the  rights 
and  claims  of  individuals,  sections,  and  even  parties,  other- 
wise to  be  recognized,  are  all  swept  away. 

But  why  longer  speak  of  these  things?  -  Death  has  changed 
all.  ?To,  no;  I  will  correct  myself.  There  are  things  which 
death  even  can  not  alter — the  force  and  benign  influence  of  the 
whole  life  of  him  now  sleeping  here — the  man  of  unstained 
character,  of  unsullied  honor — a  great  and  good  man. 

And  now,  dear  ones,  you,  whose  loss  is  great  beyond  all 
others,  what  shall  I  say  to  you? 

The  tributes  of  men,  friend  and  foe — foes  only  by  necessity 
and  not  in  fact — will  go  far  to  reconcile  you,  I  am  sure,  to  your 
loss  to-day,  and  make  it  lighter  to  be  borne.  The  honor  his 
distinguished  career  in  public  service  and  in  private  life 
attaches  to  the  name  you  bear — his  name — can  do  something 
to  lessen  the  bitterness  of  this  hour  to  you.  Yet  these  things 
can  not  and  will  not  satisfy  all  that  your  stricken  hearts  crave 
to-day. 

It  is  said  that  men  are  great  as  rulers  of  nations;  great 
when  they  sit  in  councils  of  state;  great  in  legislative  halls; 
great  when  they  stand  in  defense  of  their  country's  liberty; 
great  when  they  enact  laws  that  shall  continue  to  secure  the 
country's  prosperity,  and  regulate  the  affairs  of  men  with 
justice  and  equity. 

Will  you  say,  as  men  say  in  these  days,  and  have  repeatedly 


Funeral  Sermon.  71 

t 
said  of  him,  that  he  was  greatest  in  the  part  he  played  in  some 

of  these  things  ?  I  know  you  will  not.  You  will  say  he  was 
greatest  in  the  capacity  of  husband  and  father,  and  you  give 
expression  to  a  universal  truth  all  too  little  acknowledged  and 
recognized. 

To  you,  in  this  phase  also  of  his  life  now  concluded,  much 
seems  uncompleted.  You  cry  out  and  say,  "Oh,  for  a  few 
more  rays  of  the  sunlight  that  fell  from  his  presence !  Oh, 
for  more  of  his  tender,  sincere,  childlike  love !  Oh,  for  a  few 
more  years  of  the  many  precious  one  now* dead!" 

He  loved  you.  He  loved  his  home.  It  was  his  sanctuary 
of  peace.  Back  to  it  he  came  when  the  din  of  political  warfare 
was  hushed.  Back  to  it  he  loved  to  come  to  refresh  himself 
with  its  sweet  stillness,  its  undisturbed  quiet,  when  weary 
and  worn  by  the  cares  incident  to  his  public  life. 

Back  he  came  to  you,  faithful  companion,  wife  of  his  youth; 
and  to  you,  son,  the  fearless  champion  of  your  father's  honor, 
to  have  you  draw  out  with  the  gracious  hand  of  love  the 
bitter  arrows  shot  into  his  heart  by  the  enemy  in  the  day  of 
tumultuous  strife.  Back  he  came  to  you,  then,  that  you  might 
assuage  these  bleeding  wounds  by  the  sweet  balm  of  a  holy 
affection,  and  that  he  might  receive  from  you  that  gracious 
comfort  which  all  else  denied  him,  save  God  and  you  alone. 

In  the  text  word  which  I  have  made  the  expression  of  the 
lips  which  shall  never  open  to  speak  again  on  earth,  when  it 
is  said,  "The  Lord  will  perfect  that  which  concerneth  me,"  I 
need  not  emphasize  the  fact  that  in  the  term  "me,"  "mine"  is 
also  included,  and  preeminently  so.  To  the  true  father  the  term 
"  mine  "  is  expressive  of  more  precious  things  than  are  embraced 
in  the  designation  "me."  This  word  comprehends  the  most 
sacred  things  God  has  associated  with  human  life. 

Shall  you  doubt  that  all  which  the  heart,  now  silent,  once 
cherished  and  hoped  in  your  behalf  shall  be  consummated,  at 


72  Funeral  Sermon. 

least  to  that  extent  which  a  gracious  God  may  deem  best  for 
you? 

At  your  feet,  faded  like  beautiful  flowers,  lies  much  which 
your  heart  fondly  cherished.  You  say  it  is  imperfect!  But, 
stricken  ones,  you  would  be  favored  above  all  other  men  whom 
I  have  ever  known  could  you  confess  to-day  "  all  we  prayed, 
hoped,  and  lived  for  has  been  realized." 

God  has  reserved  perfection  for  a  brighter  clime  and  a  hap- 
pier world  than  this  will  ever  prove  to  be;  for  a  day  whose 
morning  may  break  very,  very  soon ! 

The  stars  and  suns  that  set,  only  go  dowc  to  rise  and  shine 
again  upon  other  and  fairer  lands.  There  God  will  give  to 
His  own  fullest  satisfaction!  complete  satiety!  There  "we 
shall  be  satisfied."  To  that  glad  day  you  are  rapidly  borne 
forward  on  time's  swift-flowing  stream. 

And  now  to  God,  whose  ever  gracious,  though  oft  heavy 
hand,  has  wrought  all  this,  we  reverently  commend  the  spirit 
of  him  whom  he  has  called  away.  To  Him  we  lovingly  com- 
mend you,  and  to  His  faithful  care  and  keeping.  Till  life's 
latest  day  may  this  "  God  '  who  doeth  all  things  well '  be  your 
refuge  and  underneath  you  the  everlasting  arms."  Amen. 


MEETING  OF  THE  NORTHAMPTON  COUNTY  BAR. 


EASTON,  PA.,  June  26, 1893. 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  members  of  the  Bar  of  Northampton 
County,  recognize  in  the  death  of  Hon.  WILLIAM  MUTCHLER 
the  loss  of  a  most  distinguished  brother.  He  was  of  eminent 
standing  here,  had  rare  social  and  engaging  characteristics 
as  a  man,  and  was  stamped  with  the  seal  of  most  unflinching 
honesty;  the  country  to  which  his  long  service  was  given, 
needing  wise  counsels,  never  more  than  now,  will  greatly  miss 
his  presence  in  her  legislative  halls;  and  we,  his  friends  at 
home,  who  knew  him  best,  will  hold  it  in  unfading  memory 
that  of  his  many  virtues,  his  private  and  public  life  were  both 
without  a  stain. 

Resolved,  That  we  attend  his  funeral  in  a  body  as  a  mark  of 
our  sincere  respect  and  admiration. 

Resolved,  That  our  secretary  be  hereby  instructed  to  for- 
ward a  copy  of  these  resolutions  to  the  family  of  the  deceased, 
and  that  he  move  the  court  to  put  upon  its  records  a  minute 
of  these  proceedings. 

ADDRESS   OF    HON.    W.   W.    SCHUYLEB,   PBESLDENT 

JUDGE. 

It  is  my  painful  duty  to  announce  the  death  of  the  Hon. 
WILLIAM  MUTCHLER,  a  member  of  the  bar,  respected  and 
beloved.  It  is  a  somewhat  remarkable  coincidence  that  our 
brother's  death  occurred  on  the  twenty-fourth  anniversary, 
to  the  very  day,  of  his  admission  to  our  ranks.  I  was  one  of 
the  committee  before  whom  he  passed  his  final  examination. 

73 


74  Meeting  of  the  Northampton  County  Bar. 

At  this  late  day  I  am  unable  to  recall  the  particulars  of  that 
examination.  I  can  only  remember  that  it  was  eminently  sat- 
isfactory, and  that  our  brother  at  once  entered  upon  the  duties 
of  his  profession,  which  he  continued  to  practice  down  to  the 
date  of  his  death  uninterruptedly,  except  when  called  away 
by  a  loving  constituency  into  a  wider  field  of  usefulness  as  a 
member  of  the  United  States  Congress. 

He  was  a  strong  and  able  lawyer,  but  what  appealed  to  me 
most  in  his  professional  character  was  his  rugged  integrity  and 
his  high  sense  of  professional  duty  and  propriety.  Between  us 
this  day  let  there  be  truth.  I  would  not  insult  our  brother's 
memory  by  asking  you  to  throw  over  his  faults  the  mantle 
of  charity,  for  if  he  had  any  faults  I  never  discovered  them. 
But  I  do  not  trust  to  my  own  knowledge.  Tell  me,  you  have 
known  him  intimately  during  these  years;  tell  me  if  in  his 
relations  as  a  lawyer,  whether  to  the  court,  or  his  clients,  or 
to  yourselves,  he  has  not  been  ever  and  always  the  very  soul 
of  honor! 

As  an  illustration  of  his  nice  sense  of  professional  propriety 
may  1  not  be  permitted  to  refer  to  a  matter  personal  to  myself? 
Prior  to  my  nomination  and  election  to  the  bench,  in  which  he 
took  a  leading  part,  we  had  been  the  closest  of  friends  for 
nearly  or  quite  twenty  years,  with  the  obligations  all  on  my 
side.  During  this  long  period  I  had  received  favors  from  him 
almost  innumerable,  which,  unfortunately,  I  seldom  had  an 
opportunity  to  return.  What  more  natural  than  a  feeling  on 
his  part  that  the  time  had  arrived  when  he  might  justly  lay 
claim  to  my  gratitude.  If  he  ever  had  such  a  feeling  I  never 
discovered  the  slightest  indication  of  it.  I  have  decided  ca§ea 
against  him  in  which  he  had  the  deepest  interest,  but  when. wo 
next  met  the  same  kind  and  cordial  greeting  awaited  me. 
And  I  now  declare  with  the  utmost  sincerity  and  truth  that 
during  the  eleven  years  I  have  sat  ui>on  this  bench  he  has 


Address  of  Hon.  W.  W.  Schuyler,  President  Judge.     75 

never  by  the  slightest  word  or  sign,  either  directly  or  indirectly, 
attempted  to  influence  uiy  action  as  judge  otherwise  than  by 
fair  argument  in  open  court.  He  would  have  loathed  me  if  he 
had  supposed  that  I  could  have  been  influenced  in  any  other 
way.  Even  in  the  matter  of  appointment  to  public  office, 
where  something  might  be  excused  to  friendship,  I  have  had 
to  seek  his  better  judgment,  knowing  full  well  that  my  confi- 
dence would  not  be  abused. 

Of  Mr.  MUTOHLER'S  career  in  Congress,  I  can  speak  only  from 
history.  What  that  history  is,  we  read  in  the  public  records 
of  the  nation,  in  the  messages  of  condolence  received  by  his 
family  from  every  point  of  the  compass,  and  in  the  comments 
of  the  press  of  every  political  faith.  We  read,  and  read,  and 
read,  and  it  is  ever  the  same  old  story  of  sturdy  virtue  and 
fidelity  to  duty.  But,  grand  and  unsullied  as  has  been  his 
public  life,  it  is  not  as  a  statesman  or  even  as  a  lawyer  that 
we  who  know  him  best  most  delight  to  think  of  him,  but  of  his 
noble  qualities  as  a  man.  Intolerant  of  wrong,  whatever  its 
disguise,  courageous  in  the  defense  of  right,  large  hearted, 
true  to  his  word  as  the  magnet  to  the  pole,  faithful  to  society, 
thoughtful,  kind,  generous  almost  to  a  fault,  was  there  ever  a 
truer  type  of  genuine  manhood?  And  what  a  following  he 
had!  He  had  his  enemies,  as  every  man  of  positive  character 
must  have,  and  these  sometimes  speak  of  him  as  a  "boss." 
Never  was  there  a  greater  mistake.  "  The  friends  he  had  and 
their  adoption  tried,"  and  their  name  was  legion,  "he  grappled 
to  his  soul  with  hooks  of  steel,"  and  they  flocked  to  his  stand- 
ard because  they  loved  him,  and  there  is  not  one  of  them  who 
would  not  voluntarily  have  gone  through  fire  to  do  him  service. 
Of  my  own  personal  loss  in  the  death  of  Mr.  MUTCHLER  I  dare 
not  trust  myself  to  speak,  even  if  the  occasion  were  fit.  I  will 
only  say,  in  the  language  of  another,  that  "  I  did  love  the  man 


76  Meeting  of  the  Northampton  County  Bar, 

and  do  honor  his  memory,  on  this  side  idolatry,  as  much  as 
any." 

And  now,  as  a  token  of  respect  for  the  memory  of  our 
departed  brother,  it  is  ordered  that  the  court  do  now  adjourn. 

ADDRESS  OF  HON.  O.  H.  MEYEES. 

BRETHREN  OF  THE  NORTHAMPTON  COUNTY  BAR:  The 
court  having  announced  to  us  the  death  of  Mr.  MUTCHLER,  a 
member  of  this  bar,  it  seems  to  me  fit  and  proper  that  the  bar  of 
Northampton  County,  of  which  Mr.  MUTCHLER  was  an  honored 
member,  should  assemble  and  take  fitting  action  upon  this  sad 
occasion.  Before  making  a  motion  to  that  effect  I  desire  to 
say  a  few  words,  for  the  reason  that  probably  no  member  of 
the  bar,  except  his  surviving  brother,  Henry  M.  Mutchler, 
knew  Mr.  MUTCHLER  longer  than  I  did.  I  have  known  him, 
personally  and  well,  for  over  forty  years.  We  were  born  and 
bred  in  adjoining  townships.  He  was  born  in  Palmer  Town- 
ship. I  did  not  meet  him  personally  until  after  I  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  1849.  My  first  acquaintance  with  him  dated 
from  the  time  when  I  was  acting  as  deputy  sheriff  for  John 
Bachman,  then  sheriff  of  this  county.  Mr.  MUTCHLER  was 
then  a  young  man  about  eighteen  years  of  age  and  was  attend- 
ing the  school  of  Dr.  John  Vandeveer.  1  used  to  see  him  on 
the  streets,  and  his  jet  black  hair,  dark  eyes,  and  swarthy 
complexion  form  an  ineffaceable  picture  upon  my  mind,  no 
less  than  the  modest,  sober,  almost  sad  expression  of  his  coun- 
tenance. 

My  first  personal  knowledge  of  him,  as  I  have  said,  was  after 
the  termination  of  my  duties  in  the  sheriff's  office,  when  la- 
became  my  successor  under  Sheriff  Cope,  and  I  remember  well 
when  he  came  to  the  office  the  first  time  and  announced  that 
he  would  take  rny  place,  and  the  kindly  spirit  that  he  niani- 


Address  of  Hon.  O.  H.  Meyers.  77 

fested  when  lie  said  to  me  that  he  was  sorry  to  do  so,  and  tell- 
ing me  at  the  same  time  that  Mr.  Cope  had  requested  him  to 
tell  me  that  I  should  act  as  counsel  for  him  while  he  was  ill 
that  office.  Mr.  MUTCHLER  occupied  the  office  of  deputy 
sheriff  under  Mr.  Cope,  and  also  under  Mr.  Biegel  and  Thomas 
Heckman,  and  in  that  way  formed  an  acquaintance  through- 
out this  county  which,  beginning  then,  lasted  until  this  day. 
I  knew  nothing  of  his  family;  though,  after  Mr.  MUTCHLER 
became  somewhat  of  a  power  in  this  county,  my  father,  who 
was  intimately  acquainted  with  Mr.  MUTCHLER'S  father,  used 
to  speak  to  me  of  Mr.  MUTCHLER  in  high  praise,  telling  ine 
that  his  father  was  a  hard-working  man,  a  farmer,  a  man  of 
positive  force  and  character,  of  sound  integrity  and  honesty, 
and  whose  word  was  as  good  as  his  bond,  and  that  he  has 
raised  a  large  family  of  stalwart  sons  who  worked  hard,  and 
that  he  had  taught  them  to  rely  on  their  own  resources  and 
upon  their  own  labor  for  success  in  life.  It  was  upon  the  farm 
in  Palmer  Township,  at  the  plow  handle,  and  at  the  handle  of 
the  scythe  and  pitchfork,  and  in  the  arduous  labors  of  the 
field  in  tilling  the  soil  that  Mr.  MUTCHLER  first  learned  his 
duties  to  himself  and  others. 

Of  course  he  received  a  fair  academical  education  at  Van- 
deveer's  school.  I  used  to  meet  him — as  we  all  did — at  the 
old  county  house.  In  those  days  he  was  a  man  of  noticeably 
strong  physique,  and  he  took  a  certain  pride  in  his  strength 
and  vigor.  I  recollect  one  time  when  I  sat  in  my  office  in 
Lelm's  court  he  came  in,  and  I  was  reading  a  book  at  the  time, 
and  asked  me,  "  What  are  you  reading?"  calling  me  by  rny 
first  name,  and  I  told  him  that  I  was  reading  how  Horatius 
defended  the  bridge  in  the  days  of  old  Eome,  and  it  struck  me 
that  that  would  suit  him  because  of  his  loyalty  to  courage  and 
strength,  and  I  told  him  to  read  it,  and  I  well  remember  his 
expressions  of  admiration  of  the  deed.  I  was  acquainted  with 


78  Meeting  of  the  Northampton  County  Bar. 

Mr.  MUTCHLER  intimately  and  closely  from  that  time  on  until 
his  death.  I  met  him  more  frequently  prior  to  1874  in  per- 
sonal, social,  and  political  relations  than  I  did  afterwards, 
because  in  1875  I  left  the  bar  and  then  met  him  only  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  bar,  and  of  course  only  occasionally  in  a  social  and 
personal  way. 

Mr.  MUTCHLER  was  a  man  of  high  character;  one  of  the 
strongest  characteristics  of  the  man  Was  his  integrity.  He 
was  a  man  of  untiring  industry,  and  faithful  to  his  friends 
beyond  the  common  degree  of  faithfulness.  He  was  a  faith- 
ful servant  of  the  public.  He  occupied,  as  I  have  said,  the 
office  of  deputy  sheriff  for  nine  years ;  he  served  as  prothono- 
tary  for  six  years;  he  afterwards  served  as  internal-revenue 
collector  under  the  administration  of  President  Johnson — 
and  we  all  know  how  great  the  difficulty  that  President  John- 
son had,  by  reason  of  his  dispute  with  the  Senate,  in  filling 
the  offices  of  the  Government.  But  there  was  no  trouble  in 
regard  to  the  confirmation  of  the  appointment  of  Mr.  MUTCH- 
LER, for  he  received  the  indorsement  not  only  of  the  leading 
Democrats  of  the  county  and  State,  but  he  received  as  well 
the  indorsement  of  the  leading  Republicans  of  this  county  and 
of  this  State,  and  was  appointed  to  the  office  without  difficulty, 
and  was  confirmed  in  it  by  the  Senate  of  the  United  States 
without  objection.  After  he  retired  from  that  position,  with- 
out taking  the  intermediate  steps  as  a  member  of  the  lower 
house  or  senate  of  this  State,  he  was  elected  to  be  the  Repre- 
sentative of  this  district  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States. 
He  was  a  candidate  four  years  before  1874,  when  he  \v;is 
elected,  at  the  time  when  Mr.  Storm  received  the  nomination, 
and  after  that  for  six,  though  not  successive,  terms  he  has 
been  elected  to  that  high  office. 

Mr.  MUTCHLER,  to  a  great  extent,  belies  the  adage  that  "a 
prophet  is  not  without  honor  save  in  his  own  country,"  because 


Address  of  Hon.  O.  H.  Meyers.  19 

Mr.  MUTCHLER  to-day  is  held  in  high  honor  not  only  in  his  own 
county  and  in  his  own  State,  but  he  is  respected  and  esteemed 
by  his  political  associates  in  Congress  from  every  State  in  the 
Union  without  respect  to  party. 

He  had  his  faults.  Who  has  not  ?  He  had  enemies — political 
enemies — and  such  is  always  the  fate  of  a  man  of  positive 
convictions  and  of  strong  force  of  character.  But  it  gives  me 
great  pleasure  to  say  that  he  has  outlived  the  slanders  and  the 
abuse  of  his  enemies,  and  that  he  has  gone  on  in  the  path  on 
which  he  started  forty  years  ago,  and  has  gathered  around 
him  in  this  county  and  this  State  a  cohort  of  friends — political, 
social,  and  personal — whom  he  has  bound  to  him  with  bands 
of  iron  and  hooks  of  steel,  and  who  are  faithful  to  him  with  a 
fidelity  which  few  men  in  his  life  can  claim  for  themselves. 

Mr.  MUTCHLER  was  only  62  years  of  age.  He  had  reached  a 
commanding  position  in  public  affairs.  He  had  not  reached 
the  highest  point  of  a  noble  and  laudable  ambition,  nor  a  point 
due  to  his  deserts,  and,  though  not  a  young  man,  strictly 
speaking,  he  was  still  in  the  prime  of  life  when  he  was  stricken 
down  in  the  strength  of  his  power  and  in  the  height  of  his  use- 
fulness. When  I  heard  two  weeks  ago  that  he  was  taken 
seriously  ill  in  Pike  County  I  was  shocked,  as  everybody  was, 
and  I  know  that  we  all  felt  a  relief  when  we  heard  that  it  was 
but  a  temporary  trouble;  and  few  of  us  knew  after  he  had 
returned  that  there  was  a  relapse,  and  when  his  death  was 
announced  on  Friday  morning  we  were  shocked  at  his  sudden 
death. 

Mr.  MUTCHLER'S  health  had  begun  to  fail  several  years 
ago,  and  I  recollect  only  too  well  when  standing  by  the  death- 
bed of  Cassius  M.  Anstett  last  summer  in  Washington  Mr. 
MUTCHLER  called  there,  as  he  always  did  upon  those  of  his 
friends  in  affliction,  how  he  tried  to  condole  with  me  and  the 
soon  to  be  a  widow,  and  I  recollect  that  it  was  then  forced 


30  Meeting  of  the  Northampton  County  Bar. 

upon  my  observation  that  Mr.  MUTCHLEB  looked  haggard 
and  pale,  that  he  complained  that  he  was  not  feeling  well,  and 
at  the  same  time  he  showed  his  deep  solicitude  and  sympathy 
for  Mrs.  Anstett  and  myself  upon  that  trying  occasion. 

The  court  having  adjourned  in  respect  to  the  memory  of 
Mr.  MUTCHLER,  I  now  move  that  the  members  of  the  bar 
meet  to  give  expression  to  their  sentiments  in  memory  of  our 
brother,  the  Hon.  WILLIAM  MUTCHLER,  and  I  move  that  the 
Hon.  W.  W.  Schuyler  act  as  chairman  of  this  meeting. 

ADDRESS  OP  HEKRY  W.  SCOTT. 

Mr.  CHAIRMAN  AND  GENTLEMEN  OF  THE  BAR  :  This  was 
no  ordinary  man.  That  rugged  frame  lies  pale  and  pulseless 
now,  but  it  seemed  made  to  last  a  hundred  years.  That  soul 
which  dreamed,  which  doubted,  yet  believed,  now  unvexed  by 
temporal  bonds,  speculates  no  longer  upon  the  great  problems 
of  futurity;  the  books  of  science,  of  prophecy,  of  revelation, 
which  so  often  he  explored,  are  turned  down;  the  hands  are 
closed;  for  him  the  truth  is  known.  But  when  he  lived,  he 
was  no  coward,  and  did  not  fear  to  face  Cartesian  doubts. 

He  was  such  a  familiar  presence  to  most  of  us  that  it  is  not 
easy  to  believe  that  he  is  gone;  these  walls  still  hear  his 
homely,  but  robust  speech;  these  floors  his  feet  so  often 
pressed  still  bear  his  measured  tread.  We  still  expect  to 
grasp  that  welcoming  hand,  to  listen  to  that  wholesome  laugh- 
ter which  approved  the  friendly  jest. 

His  birth  was  humble  and  his  life  was  plain;  he  loved  the 
simple  virtues ;  he  began  poor  and  never  acquired  expensive 
tastes  ;  his  manners  were  those  of  the  country  people  among 
whom  he  lived;  they  all  greeted  him  with  the  same  friendly 
;ind  common  speech  they  were  wont  to  use  when  he  was  young. 
He  became  strong  and  powerful,  but  he  never  for  one  hour 
lost  the  affections  of  those  who  loved  him  in  earliest  years. 


Address  of  Mr.  Henry  W.  Scott.  81 

He  grew  to  manhood  with  royal  bearing.  In  physical  stature 
he  was  "every  inch  a  king."  He  bore  the  front  of  Jove  him- 
self ;  his  dark  eyes  set  in  cavernous  depths,  under  a  lofty  dome 
of  forehead,  reflected  the  impress  of  a  greatness  where  Divinity 
had  set  its  seal.  When  he  died  his  hair  was  yet  dark  as  the 
raven's  wing ;  and  as  Bulstrode  Whitelocke  said  of  the  great 
Earl  Straffordj  "  his  countenance  was  manly  black." 

The  confidence  of  those  who  have  political  power  to  bestow 
he  obtained  early  and  held  long.  It  is  a  plant  of  slow  growth, 
but  when  its  roots  take  hold  it  is  sturdier  than  the  forest  oak. 
He  acquired  that  confidence  because  he  deserved  it ;  from  the 
beginning  the  people  trusted  his  honesty,  no  less  than  his 
judgment,  and  he  never  deceived  them.  In  the  heated  con- 
flicts for  political  supremacy,  which  he  so  long  maintained, 
adversaries  stubbornly  fought,  criticised,  censured,  often  tra- 
duced ;  so  was  it  ever.  But  when  the  fight  was  ended,  and 
the  temper  cooled,  it  was  seen  the  popular  will  went  not 
astray.  He  was  strongly  conservative  ;  those  he  represented 
were  not  quick  to  adopt  new  beliefs  ;  he  waited  until  they 
were  ready  to  accept  new  forms  and  a  new  faith,  and  when  he 
pushed  onward  they  knew  the  time  had  come. 

He  was  in  closest  touch  with  the  material  interests  of  his 
State  and  country;  he  often,  stood  in  the  minority,  but  not 
for  temporary  advantage  would  he  surrender  conviction,  and 
time  was  his  avenger.  It  was  sometimes  thought  he  was  a 
master  in  political  art;  but  the  secret  of  his  success  lay  upon 
the  surface;  his  long  ascendency  was  maintained  because  he 
was  honest.  His  enemies  sought  for  the  key  as  if  concealed  in 
the  meshes  of  a  diplomatic  skill,  or  looked  for  wires  which  they 
conceived  turned  the  distant  switches.  But  honesty  is  some- 
times the  best  policy,  even  in  politics.  His  word  was  truth 
itself;  he  never  made  a  political  promise  that  he  did  not  keep, 
if  he  could,  with  the  same  observance  as  a  personal  bond. 
H.  Mis.  93 6 


82  Meeting  of  the  Northampton  County  Bar. 

Others  have  maintained  brief  power,  but  they  were  willing  to 
sacrifice  friends  to  placate  enemies,  and  now  their  names  are 
writ  in  water. 

Let  it  be  well  remembered  that  thirty  years  of  personal  supe- 
riority in  politics  can  not  be  sustained  by  dishonest  methods; 
let  it  be  known,  too,  that  for  most  of  all  those  years  he  could 
not  dispense  national  patronage  as  rewards  to  his  faithful  fol- 
lowing. The  mass  of  the  people  may  sometimes  be  u  fickle 
changelings  and  poor  discontents,"  but  their  final  judgment  is 
seldom  or  never  wrong;  they  may  gaze  with  wonder,  it  may 
be  with  admiration,  at  a  brilliant  political  comet  of  the  season ; 
but  that  passes  beyond  the  horizon,  and  they  turn  with  rest- 
ful contemplation  to  the  fixed  star  that  sheds  its  steady  radi- 
ance in  the  sky. 

His  tastes  were  pure  and  childlike ;  he  loved  plain  people, 
plain  living,  plain  thinking;  he  was  close  to  nature's  heart; 
he  found  no  enjoyment  in  the  noise  and  turmoil  of  large 
cities;  he  loved  the  country  and  its  simple  pleasures,  never 
happier  than  when  with  a  few  friends  he  could  get  to  the 
green  fields  or  shady  woods ;  and  it  was  in  such  a  place  the 
summons  came  to  him  that  the  end  was  near.  His  mind  was 
clean ;  he  could  not  tolerate  the  broad  and  suggestive  hint  of 
vulgar  jokes.  All  those  who  knew  him  in  most  familiar  moods 
will  not  recall  a  single  phrase  he  ever  uttered  that  the  most 
pure-minded  woman  might  not  hear  without  a  blush  to  tinge 
the  cheek  with  shame. 

To-day  these  dripping  skies  give  fit  expression  to  our  pur- 
pose here ;  to-morrow  we  follow  his  funeral  pall  to  the  tomb 
now  open  to  receive  its  guest;  in  that  grave  there  will  be  rest 
for  him,  whose  life  was  full  of  struggles,  of  contentions,  of 
triumphs,  yet  not  exempt  from  the  censorious  judgments  of 
baffled  and  disappointed  ambitions.  Such  examples  are  not 
wholly  lost  either  in  life  or  death,  for  now  all  controversy  ends; 


Address  of  Hon.  W.  S.  Kirkpatrick.  83 

it  is  only  remembered  how  that  poor  boy  of  half  a  century  ago 
became  a  leader  of  thought  in  his  country's  councils,  and  that 
country  now  mourns  for  him,  that  the  wires  are  laden  with 
messages  from  high  officers  of  State,  that  when  he  died  the 
flags  in  the  city  of  his  home  were  displayed  at  half-mast,  and 
newspapers  that  mold  the  opinions  of  the  world  filled  their 
columns  with  memorials  of  the  dead. 

ADDRESS  OF  HON.  W.  S.  KIRKPATRICK. 

In  rising  to  second  these  resolutions  I  can  not  refrain  from 
saying  a  word,  a  friendly  word,  of  affectionate  remembrance 
of  our  departed  friend  and  brother.  The  general  sorrow  which 
prevails  in  this  community,  the  expression  of  sadness  which 
we  see  upon  every  face,  is  a  mute  testimony,  stronger  than 
words  of  eulogistic  phrase,  of  the  loss  which  we  feel  has  befallen 
us.  But  Mr.  MUTOHLER  was  a  man  whose  life  and  character 
can  not  be  lost — a  man  whose  memory  will  always  be  treasured 
by  a  host  of  warm  and  devoted  friends  and  companions.  My 
acquaintance  with  Mr.  MUTCHLEB  commenced  before  my  pro- 
fessional career  began.  From  my  first  relations  with  him  I 
have  ever  felt  a  deep  and  warm  admiration  for  him,  an  affec- 
tionate feeliog  inspired  and  intensified  by  his  kindly  and  friendly 
manifestations  of  interest,  and  the  warm  and  helpful  sympa- 
thy which  he  always  manifested  in  the  vicissitudes  and  diffi- 
culties which  it  has  been  my  lot  to  encounter.  He  was  a  man 
in  whose  life  and  character  there  is  no  flaw,  although,  as  has 
been  suggested,  he  has  been  the  subject  of  hostile  criticism, 
as  all  men  in  public  and  active  life  must  be.  His  was  a  career 
and  a  life  which  will,  as  time  goes  on,  and  as  we  reflect  upon 
and  recall  that  life,  grow  brighter  in  our  memories  in  spite  of 
the  receding  years. 


84  Meeting  of  the  Northampton  County  Bar. 

He  was  a  type  of  a  strong-limbed  and  strong-minded  race, 
the  best  exponent  of  a  people  among  whom  he  spent  his  life 
and  in  whose  service  he  labored  so  devotedly  for  so  many 
years.  Not  only  has  he  been  appreciated  at  home,  where, 
upon  a  near  view,  perhaps,  a  man's  faults  are  more  likely  to 
be  more  prominently  disclosed  than  his  virtues,  but  abroad 
and  in  the  wider  walks  of  public  life  he  had  the  respect  and 
confidence  of  all  who  came  in  contact  with  him,  of  all  with 
whom  and  for  whom  he  labored  in  the  public  service.  His 
calm  judgment,  his  conservative  disposition,  his  strong  com- 
mon sense,  his  directness  of  speech,  were  qualities  that  com- 
mended him  to  the  attention,  the  respect,  and  the  confidence 
of  public  men,  of  men  high  in  the  public  service,  of  men  close 
to  the  sources  of  national  life  and  power.  1  think  that  all 
that  is  said  in  these  resolutions,  all  that  has  been  said  by  your 
honor  in  the  performance  of  the  sad  and  solemn  ceremony  of 
adjourning  the  court  as  a  token  of  respect  to  the  memory  of 
our  departed  friend  and  brother,  all  that  has  been  said  by  my 
brethren  of  the  bar  who  have  preceded  me  is  but  commensurate 
with  his  merit  and  his  character,  for  he  was  in  all  respects  a 
large-minded  man,  a  generous  hearted  man,  an  honest  man, 
and  he  was  a  great  power  and  influence  in  this  community  for 
good,  a  man  whose  example  and  whose  memory  will  be  among 
the  most  precious  inheritances  of  this  bar  and  of  this  people 
among  whom  he  had  his  lot  and  to  whom  he  ever  rendered 
faithful  and  devoted  service. 

ADDRESS  OF  HON.  WILLIAM  BEIDELMAN. 

I  have  known  Mr.  MUTCHLER  for  nearly  thirty  years,  and 
it  is  now  just  twenty-five  years  ago  since  we  were  brought 
together  into  close  intimate  and  personal  relations,  which  only 
ceased  to  exist  on  the  early  morn  of  Friday  last,  when  he, 


Address  of  Hon.  William  Beidelman.  85 

whose  voice  is  now  stilled  in  death,  met  the  inevitable,  which 
sooner  or  later  will  come  to  us  all. 

Since  the  commencement  of  those  relations  there  have  been 
very  many  mutual  confidences  between  us  as  we  traveled  along 
together,  often  in  pursuit  of  the  same  purpose,  aiming  at  a 
common  end.  It  is  through  such  means  that  I  .learned  to  know 
Mr.  MUTCHLER  well,  acquiring  a  complete  knowledge  and 
insight  into  all  the  traits  of  his  character  as  a  man,  a  citizen, 
and  a  friend.  There  are  many  incidents  which  transpired 
during  that  time,  personal  to  ourselves,  which  have  tended  to 
endear  him  to  me,  the  recollections  of  which  call  forth  the 
sublimest  emotions  of  the  human  heart,  and  which  are  too 
sacred  to  be  told  even  here  upon  this  sorrowful  occasion — at  a 
time  when  the  springs  of  our  human  sympathies  are  made  to 
flow  by  a  common  grief. 

But  these  are  matters  which  do  not  concern  the  world,  but 
we  are  permitted  to  refer  to  them  because  they  are  the  sources 
of  a  friendship  which  only  death  could  sever.  1  will  leave  it 
to  others  to  speak  of  Mr.  MUTCHLER'S  honorable  public  career, 
his  unstained  public  and  private  character,  and  the  ability, 
fidelity,  and  fearlessness  with  which  he  met  every  public  and 
private  duty. 

He  has  been  so  long  and  prominently  before  the  people  that 
all  who  knew  him  learned  to  honor  and  respect  him  for  his  great 
personal  worth.  The  universal  esteem  in  which  he  has  been 
held  is  manifested  by  the  sorrow  which  prevails  throughout 
this  entire  community,  amongst  all  classes,  irrespective  of  party 
or  political  affiliations,  and  also  as  is  shown  by  the  many  mes- 
sages of  condolence  to  his  family,  coming  from  the  most  dis- 
tinguished throughout  the  State,  as  well  as  from  beyond.  The 
encomiums  of  the  press,  including  many  papers  opposed  to  Mr. 
MUTCHLER  politically,  show  how  the  better  side  of  our  human- 
ity can  hush  all  political  resentments  in  the  presence  of  the 


86  Meeting  of  the  Northampton  County  Bar. 

death  of  a  good  and  useful  citizen.  These  eulogies  in  honor 
of  the  virtues  and  high  character  of  our  friend  who  has  now 
passed  away,  much  too  early,  betoken  a  much  more  disinter- 
ested praise  than  our  own  kind  but  feeble  words  can  do;  and 
they  should,  as  we  stand  by  his  open  grave,  bring  humility  to 
those  who  still  harbor  resentment,  if  any  such  there  be. 

It  is  the  fate  of  all  brave  men  possessed  of  honest  convic- 
tions and  the  courage  to  seek  their  enforcement,  to  have  ene- 
mies rise  up  against  them.  Mr.  MUTCHLER  was  not  exempt 
from  this  common  fate.  But  his  enemies  are  of  a  class  of  whom 
no  serious  note  was  ever  taken,  for  they  are  not  the  enemies 
of  an  honest  and  generous  rivalry,  who  command  respect,  but 
rather  of  the  envious,  whose  hearts  are  filled  with  the  rancor 
of  disappointed  hopes  or  wounded  ambition — enemies  who  are 
chafing  because  they  have  failed  to  receive  that  recognition, 
which  they  vainly  imagine  their  importance  demands.  How 
little  such  people  can  injure  an  honest  and  upright  man,  is 
shown  by  the  repeated  and  unqualified  indorsement  of  Mr. 
MUTCHLER  by  the  people  of  his  Congressional  district.  While 
we  witness  all  around  the  evidences  of  genuine  sorrow  and 
true,  manly  grief  of  his  neighbors,  friends,  and  of  those  from  a 
distance  who  have  for  a  long  time  been  associated  with  him  in 
his  spotless  public  career,  because  he  is  no  more,  we  who 
remain  behind  will  still  have  a  pleasing  heritage  of  having 
known  such  a  man  as  WILLIAM  MUTCHLER,  and  to  have  been 
honored  by  his  confidence  and  friendship.  To  commemorate 
his  virtues  we  need  not  indulge  in  meaningless  words  of  ful- 
some praise  and  flattery,  but  a  single  line  will  tell  the  whole 
story  in  trumpet  tones,  and  that  is,  "He  was  an  honest  man." 


Address  of  Mr.  Thomas  F.  Emmens.  87 

ADDRESS  OF  THOMAS  F.  EMMENS. 

Mr.  CHAIRMAN,  GENTLEMEN  OF  THE  BAR  :  We  are  brought 
together  to-day  by  one  of  the  highest  motives  that  can  actuate 
the  minds  of  men.  We  come  to  honor  those  nobler  qualities 
of  the  soul  which  are  the  attributes  of  an  earnest,  honest, 
faithful  man.  This  meeting  is  more  than  the  formal  observ- 
ance of  a  courteous  custom.  The  instinctive  reverence  of 
humanity  for  truth  and  justice,  for  purity  of  heart,  honesty 
of  purpose,  and  righteousness  of  life,  dignifies  and  solemnizes 
this  assemblage.  The  tears  that  are  shed  well  up  from  throb- 
bing hearts  because  the  true  heart  of  a  good  man  which  was 
full  of  kindness  and  love  towards  his  fellows  is  forever  still  in 
death.  Such  tears  are  sacred. 

I  had  looked  forward  to  this  meeting  with  dread  in  my  mind 
that  I  might  not  be  able  so  far  to  control  myself  as  to  pay  my 
poor  tribute  to  the  memory  of  my  friend ;  but  since  I  have 
read  that  which  is  written  of  him,  since  I  have  pondered  on 
the  story  of  his  life,  and  have  listened  to  those  who  have 
spoken  of  him,  I  have  had  a  feeling  akin  to  exultation  in  the 
thought  that  the  hand  of  death,  which  has  torn  the  heart- 
strings of  his  friends,  has  opened  for  him  the  doors  of  fame 
and  has  closed  forever  the  gates  of  envy.  He  was  my  friend. 
I  loved  him.  And  I  love  to  honor  his  memory. 

WILLIAM  MUTCHLER  occupied  so  large  a  place  in  public 
life  that  the  mere  casual  observer  never  comprehended  the 
height  and  depth  and  length  and  breadth  of  his  services  and 
influence  in  the  councils  of  the  nation.  Modest  and  retiring, 
he  shrank  from  notoriety.  The  public  work  that  kept  him 
busy  was  done  without  ostentation — quietly  and  as  a  matter 
of  course,  because  it  was  his  duty.  But  it  is  recorded.  And 
when  the  truth  as  to  his  arduous,  painstaking,  faithful  labors 
in  public  life  comes  to  be  written  it  will  be  found  that  in  the 


88  Meeting  of  the  Northampton  County  Bar. 

expenditure  of  vital  force  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty  as  a  rep- 
resentative of  the  people  at  Washington  he  as  truly  gave  up 
his  life  for  his  country  as  any  soldier  who  died  upon  the  battle- 
field. 

During  his  years  of  public  service  he  saw  men  grow  rich  on 
the  spoils  of  office  and  made  famous  by  the  selfish  use  of  politi 
cal  power.  He  saw  his  motives  misconstrued,  his  purposes 
misrepresented,  his  conduct  harshly  and  unjustly  criticised. 
But  none  of  these  things  had  power  to  move  him.  He  was 
always  quietly  confident  in  the  belief  that  Truth  prevails.  And 
again  and  again  his  vindication  came  in  a  triumphant  return 
to  Washington  and  the  ever-increasing  consideration  and  re- 
spect of  the  people.  And  now,  as  we  stand  by  the  body  that 
was  his  and  do  reverence  to  the  loftiness  and  purity  of  the 
soul  that  has  taken  its  flight,  many  for  the  first  time  begin  to 
realize  how  great  a  man  we  had  among  us.  His  spotless  char- 
acter and  unsullied  fame  honored  the  county  of  his  birth  and 
the  people  he  represented. 

If  it  had  been  in  the  nature  of  the  man  to  use  the  political 
power  he  possessed  for  his  own  personal  advantage,  he  could 
have  acquired  wealth.  But  he  preferred  that  good  name 
which  is  better  than  great  riches.  Thank  God  for  our  dear 
dead  friend  !  Not  all  the  wealth  a  dozen  Goulds  or  Vander- 
bilts  might  command  could  have  bought  him  to  do  a  mean  or 
a  dishonest  thing. 

He  was  a  man  to  trust.  A  distinguished  member  of  Con- 
gress, now  deceased,  said:  "  If  I  were  now  about  to  die  and 
leave  a  fortune  to  my  orphaned  daughters,  I  would  put  it  in 
the  hands  of  WILLIAM  MUTCIILER  as  their  guardian,  and  die 
without  a  fear  of  their  future." 

Those  who  knew  him  best  loved  him  most  and  relied  upon 
him  most  implicitly.  In  his  career  the  promise  of  the  Scrip 
ture  to  him  that  walketh  righteously  and  spcakcfh  uprightly 


Address  of  Mr.  Thomas  F.  Emmens.  89 

was  fulfilled.  And  in  death  there  is  the  same  sure  promise 
that  his  eyes  shall  see  the  King  in  his  beauty;  they  shall  be- 
hold the  land  that  is  very  far  off. 

The  good  influence  of  such  an  earnest,  honest  man  in 
public  life  can  scarcely  be  overestimated.  The  politics  of 
the  country  were  cleaner  and  purer  because  he  was  a  lead- 
ing spirit  among  politicians.  Fraud  slunk  away  from  his 
presence  and  rascality  hid  itself  when  he  was  near.  The 
cleanness  of  his  life  and  the  purity  of  his  motives  compelled 
the  respect  of  all  men,  while  the  breadth  of  his  political 
vision,  his  excellent  judgment  and  staunch  adherence  to 
principle,  made  him  wise  in  counsel  and  strong  in  action. 
A  deep  thinker,  a  close  reason  er,  and  a  logical  debater,  he 
was  a  power  on  the  floor  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
and  as  a  legislator  has  done  valuable  service  for  his  country. 

In  the  work  of  his  profession  his  sterling  integrity  and  hon- 
est devotion  to  the  interests  of  his  clients  made  him  an  able 
advocate  and  a  powerful  adversary,  while  his  unfailing  kind- 
ness and  courtesy  endeared  him  to  every  member  of  this  court. 
He  had  the  cheerful  disposition  which  belongs  to  a  kind  heart 
and  the  pleasant  manners  of  a  true  gentleman. 

Of  my  personal  relations  with  him  I  can  scarcely  trust  my- 
self to  speak.  They  were  so  close  and  cordial  that  the  calam- 
ity which  has  befallen  this  bar  and  this  community  strikes  me 
with  the  painful  force  of  personal  bereavement.  We  read 
together.  We  discussed  books  and  men  and  current  events 
with  the  frankness  and  freedom  of  friendship.  He  had  read 
so  much  and  thought  so  deeply  on  some  of  the  graver  prob- 
lems of  life  and  later  discoveries  of  science  that  he  was  a  most 
instructive  as  well  as  entertaining  companion.  And  his  views 
on  every  subject  were  so  tempered  by  his  kindly  nature  and 
gentle  spirit  of  charity  towards  all  men  that  it  was  a  lesson  in 
tolerance  and  liberality  to  hear  him  talk.  I  long  since  learned 


90  Meeting  of  the  Northampton  County  Bar. 

the  secret  of  his  power  over  men.  It  was  his  absolute  honesty 
and  perfect  truthfulness  that  charmed  all  who  were  abie  to  ap- 
preciate the  beauty  of  goodness.  I  have  traveled  far  and  in 
many  lands,  and  have  mingled  much  with  my  fellow-men.  In 
all  my  experience  in  life  I  never  met  a  truer,  kinder,  nobler  gen- 
tleman than  WILLIAM  MUTJHLER.  I  saw  him  in  his  home  life, 
and  know  how  deep  and  tender  was  his  love  for  those  who  are 
now  most  deeply  bereaved.  But  of  that  I  can  not  speak.  And 
after  all  what  are  words!  It  seems  almost  a  sacrilege  to  try 
to  clothe  in  speech  those  deep  emotions  of  our  souls  which  can 
find  no  articulate  sound ! 

A  loyal,  true  friend,  a  dear  companion,  a  faithful,  honest 
public  servant  has  passed  out  of  this  life,  and  until  in  the 
progress  of  evolution,  we  shall  have  followed  in  the  way  that 
he  has  gone,  we  shall  hear  his  voice  no  more.  His  cordial 
greeting,  his  kindly  smile,  his  ready  sympathy  are  now  only 
memories.  But,  as  we  recall  the  history  of  his  life,  we  know 
it  is  true,  that  the  steps  of  a  good  man  are  ordered  by  the 
Lord.  The  path  of  this  just  man  has  been  as  a  shining  light, 
and  as  this  immortal  soul  goes  onward  and  upward  to  that 
great  source  of  all  good  to  which  the  whole  creation  moves,  it 
will  shine  more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day. 

ADDRESS  OF  H.  J.  STEELE. 

My  relations  with  Mr.  MUTCHLER  were  of  so  close  and 
intimate  a  character,  and  I  am  indebted  to  him  for  so  many 
personal  kindnesses,  that  I  would  feel  recreant  to  a  duty  if  I 
did  not  add  a  few  words  of  praise  to  his  memory.  My  close 
contact  with  him  dates  back  to  the  time  when  I  first  became 
a  law  student,  almost  sixteen  years  ago,  when,  as  since,  he 
happened  to  have  his  law  office  in  the  same  building  and  upon 
the  same  floor  where  I  was  located.  During  his  leisure 


Address  of  Mr.  H.  J.  Steele.  91 

moments  his  office  was  a  favorite  resort  for  lawyers  and  citi- 
zens generally,  who  were  charmed  by  the  keenness  of  his 
humor  and  his  instructive  as  well  as  entertaining  conversation. 
From  this  intimate  personal  knowledge  of  the  man  I  was  early 
impressed  with  his  sterling  virtues,  his  rugged  honesty,  and 
his  unselfish  devotion  to  his  friends. 

We  all  know  that  the  law  is  a  jealous  master  and  brooks  no 
rivals.  As  a  science  it  is  not  to  be  acquired  in  a  day  or  a  year, 
but  only  after  many  long  years  of  toil,  can  one  feel  that  he  has 
fully  obtained  "that  gladsome  light  of  jurisprudence"  spoken 
of  by  Lord  Coke.  Our  departed  friend  did  not  choose  to  travel 
the  old  and  thorny  road  of  exclusive  practice,  and  devoted  the 
greater  part  of  his  time  to  public  affairs.  But  he  was  thor- 
oughly grounded  in  legal  principles,  and  to  all  his  legal  argu- 
ments he  brought  that  clear  and  accurate  reasoning  for  which 
he  was  noted.  Who  can  doubt  that  if  he  had  given  his  pro- 
fession his  undivided  attention  he  would  have  become  one  of 
its  great  masters  f 

It  was  in  public  affairs,  however,  that  he  achieved  his  great- 
est distinction.  He  filled  numerous  public  positions  in  city, 
county,  and  nation,  and  always  with  credit  to  himself  and 
honor  to  his  constituents.  Elected  to  the  Federal  House  of 
Representatives  for  six  full  terms,  his  ability  and  integrity 
soon  won  him  leadership  in  that  body.  It  has  been  my  privi- 
lege during  visits  to  Washington  to  sit  by  his  side  in  that 
body  and  to  witness  the  universal  respect  and  esteem  in  which 
he  was  held  by  his  colleagues.  He  numbered  among  his 
warmest  friends  those  who  differed  most  widely  from  his  polit- 
ical views.  Firm  and  inflexible  as  he  was  in  his  own  opinions, 
he  was  no  bigot,  and  his  public  life  was  of  the  highest,  noblest, 
and  broadest  type. 

But,  -Mr.  Chairman,  all  who  came  closely  in  contact  with 
him,  also  know  how  kind  and  genial  he  was  in  all  his  personal 


92  Meeting  of  the  Northampton  County  Bar. 

relations,  how  affectionate  to  the  last  degree  to  his  family,  and 
how  gentle,  unpretentious,  and  unaffected  he  was  in  his  man- 
ners. His  nature  was  not  spoiled  by  his  success  or  great  rep- 
utation, and  his  heart  was  not  touched  by  the  chilling  influ- 
ences of  public  life.  His  great  manhood  stood  by  him  to  the 
last,  and  he  died  as  he  had  lived — a  simple,  direct,  and  earnest 
man. 

ADDRESS  OF  HON.  HOWARD  J.  REEDER. 

I  have  prepared  no  written  words  expressive  of  my  regard 
tor  Mr.  MUTCHLER  to  place  with  what  has  already  been  offered 
here  this  morning  upon  the  bier  of  our  friend.  He  was  my 
friend. 

Opponents,  politically,  we  always  were,  meeting  in  the 
fiercest  and  hottest  political  battles  often  with  visors  closed 
and  lances  down,  with  no  mercy  asked  and  no  mercy  given.  Yet 
personally  we  were  always  friends. 

He  was  as  close  to  me  in  friendship  as  he  was  to  many  of 
you  who  were  politically  fighting  always  by  his  side.  I  was 
one  of  those  who  urged  upon  Mr.  MUTCHLER,  more  than  twenty 
years  ago — almost  thirty  years  ago — the  study  of  law. 

He  had  already  familiarized  himself  with  the  practice  during 
his  service  of  six  years  in  the  office  of  the  prothonotary,  and 
which  had  equipped  him  to  some  extent  for  the  active  practice 
of  the  profession;  equipped  him  perhaps  better  than  many 
others  who  were  admitted  simply  by  the  study  of  law  books  in 
an  office.  Mr.  MUTCHLER  deliberately,  yet  hesitatingly, 
determined  to  study  law. 

I  was  always  welcome  in  his  office  as  he  was  always  welcome 
in  mine.  Yet  never  did  either  of  us  swerve  from  our  opposing 
political  positions.  But  never  did  we  abate  one  jot  or  tittle  of 
our  personal  friendship  for  each  other. 

As  an  illustration  of  what  I  am  saying,  I  may  say  that  at  one 


Address  of  Hon.  Howard  J.  Reeder,  Judge.  93 

time  when  I  was  a  candidate  for  a  public  office  Mr.  MUTCHLER, 
hearing  that  I  was  sanguine  of  success,  and  believing  defeat 
to  be  inevitable,  came,  the  day  before  election,  to  my  office, 
and  sat  down  at  my  side  at  my  desk,  with  the  generosity  so 
characteristic  of  his  nature,  tried  to  prepare  me  for  my  coming 
disappointment  lest  defeat  would  fall  too  heavily  upon  me. 
But  he  never  abated  one  jot  in  his  position,  never  swerved 
from  the  line  of  duty  to  his  political  fellows,  yet  in  his  exalted 
idea  of  personal  friendship  he  did  that,  and  all  that,  which,  in 
loyalty  to  his  party,  he  could  do,  and  thus  manifested,  as  he 
did  always  and  everywhere,  and  upon  every  occasion,  the  man- 
hood which  was  in  him. 

His  rugged  integrity,  his  great  generous  heart,  his  broad  level 
mind  would  have  made  him  admired  and  loved  everywhere, 
and  no  man  ever  lived  within  the  boundaries  of  Northampton 
County  that  was  more  loved  than  WILLIAM  MUTCHLER. 

He h ad  some  enemies.  B ut  no  man  that  is  worthy  of  the  friend- 
ship and  lasting  esteem  of  his  fellow-citizens ;  no  man  who  has 
positive  convictions  and  strong  force  of  character  and  clear 
ideas  of  the  right;  no  man  who  has  made  himself  felt  and  who 
has  made  himself  prominent  in  public  affairs  but  will  have 
enemies. 

Mr.  MUTCHLER  was  all  this,  and  therefore,  of  course,  he 
had  enemies.  But,  after  all,  I  do  not  believe  that  Mr.  MUTCH- 
LER ever  had  an  enemy  other  than  political  enemies — those 
that  were  embittered  because  of  the  disappointment  of  political 
ambition,  or  hostile  to  him  on  account  of  political  theories. 

Outside  of  these  I  do  not  believe  that  Mr.  MUTCHLER  ever 
had  an  enemy.  If  he  had  I  never  heard  of  one,  and  I  never 
heard  of  a  political  enemy  of  his  that  did  not  recognize  in  Mr. 
MUTCHLER,  and  esteem  in  him,  that  which  we  ajl  esteemed — 
the  good  qualities  which  made  him  so  preeminently  a  man. 


94  Meeting  of  the  Northampton  Comity  Bar. 

ADDRESS  OF  JAMES  W.  WILSON. 

I  feel  that  I  can  add  but  little  to  what  has  been  so  well  said 
here  this  morning  about  our  deceased  brother,  but  I  want  to 
bear  iny  tribute  to  the  memory  of  my  departed  friend.  My 
acquaintance  with  him,  and  my  admiration  for  him,  dates  back 
to  a  period  before  I  reached  manhood.  He  has  been  a  warm 
personal  friend  of  mine  for  twenty  years.  Since  the  sad  news 
of  his  death  has  come  to  us  I  have  often  thought  what  honors 
might  have  been  his  had  his  life  been  spared  even  for  a  few 
years  more.  We  all  know  the  position  to  which  he  had  attained. 
We  all  know,  too,  as  Mr.  Scott  has  well  said,  that  it  was  not 
by  any  meteor  flash,  not  by  any  brilliant  single  act,  not  by  any 
lucky  chance,  that  our  departed  Mend  reached  the  command- 
ing position  which  he  held.  We  know  that  it  was  patient, 
conscientious,  hard  work,  with  constant  faithfulness  to  duty 
and  unswerving  integrity,  that  brought  him  the  honors  which 
he  wore  so  well.  He  had  reached  that  point  where  the  field 
was  broad  and  the  opportunities  were  great.  Who  can  meas- 
ure the  added  honors  which  might  have  been  his  had  he  been 
spared  to  round  out  the  allotted  three  score  years  and  ten  ? 
But  his  summons  came  and  he  has  gone.  His  familiar  face 
and  friendly  smile  were  ever  the  same,  whether  in  social  con- 
verse or  in  the  fierce  heat  of  political  strife,  always  showing 
the  same  genial,  kind-hearted  man. 

Eloquent  eulogies  upon  the  life  and  services  of  our  deceased 
brother  have  been  pronounced  here  this  morning  by  those  far 
better  fitted  than  I  am  to  frame  them  in  words  such  as  they 
merit,  but  I  want  to  add  this  personal  expression  of  the  respect 

• 

and  affection  which  I  felt  for  my  departed  friend.  I  feel  his 
loss  more  than  I  can  describe.  The  recollection  of  his  friend- 
ship for  me,  and  his  never-failing  kindness  to  me,  will  be  one 
of  the  most  pleasant  memories  of  my  life. 


Address  of  Mr.  A.  C.  La  Barre.  95 

ADDRESS  OF  A.  C.  LA  BARRE.        , 

Elevated  to  official  station  so  recently  by  the  suffrages  of 
the  people,  I  feel  I  but  perform  a  public  duty  and  voice  the 
sentiments  of  a  large  constituency  of  him  whom  we  now 
honor,  as  well  as  add  my  tribute  of  respect,  in  giving  brief 
expression  at  this  time. 

It  is  not  my  fortune  to  have  had  a  long  and  intimate 
acquaintance  or  close  association  with  the  departed  com- 
moner and  friend  of  the  people. 

A  great  man  has  gone  from  us — a  giant  has  fallen.  His 
compeers  at  the  bar  can  speak  of  him  as  a  lawyer,  his  asso- 
ciates as  a  friend,  many  as  a  political  leader,  but  I  speak  of 
him  as  of  the  noblest  work  of  God,  in  that  he  was  an  honest 
man.  To  say  this  of  one  who  has  been  so  long  in  political 
life,  whose  experience  has  been  so  varied,  whose  influence  has 
been  so  wide,  is  to  speak  volumes,  and  more  impressive  than 
rhetorical  embellishment. 

In  the  death  of  Hon.  WILLIAM  MUTCHLER  the  loss  is  more 
than  local;  it  is  in  deepest  sorrow  felt  everywhere  throughout 
old  Northampton  and  throughout  all  neighboring  counties, 
but  his  loss  is  a  national  one  and  is  deplored  in  every  part  of 
our  country.  Mr.  MUTCHLER  was  a  statesman,  a  man  of  large 
brain  and  of  large  heart.  Indoctrinated  and  believing  in 
Jeffersouian  principles,  his  statesmanship  embraced  the  whole 
country,  and  his  political  deeds  and  achievements  were  for  the 
welfare  of  all  the  people  of  the  whole  land. 

He  had  more  than  "  a  local  habitation  and  a  name."  He 
was  a  sage  in  counsel,  and  the  great  men  of  the  land  often 
sought  his  advice  and  counseled  with  him  on  great  occasions, 
and  concerning  momentous  questions.  And  now,  when  his 
experience  and  wisdom  were  about  to  be  brought  to  the  fullest 
test,  his  days  of  usefulness  to  be  greater  than  ever,  his  career 


96  Meeting  of  the  Northampton  County  Bar. 

to  be  exceptionally  grand,  to  be  so  suddenly  cut  down  by  "the 
fell  destroyer,"  it  seems  to  us  who  enjoyed  his  acquaintance 
and  who  could  call  him  father,  brother,  associate,  friend, 
almost  too  great  to  bear. 

The  embodiment  of  manly  virtues,  the  very  soul  of  integrity, 
all  manly  men  can  but  grieve  at  his  death;  but  in  our  deepest 
sorrow  we  have  the  consolation  to  know  how  great  the  honor 
he  reflected  on  us  whose  representative  in  part  he  was,  and 
what  an  inspiration  there  is,  especially  to  young  men,  in  his 
life,  his  manhood,  and  rugged,  lofty  character,  for  here,  indeed, 
was  one  of  nature's  noblemen,  and  the  life  he  lived  so  truly 
will  ever  be  "  a  great  and  noble  creed." 


DATE  DUE 


PRINTED  IN  U.S.A. 


E664.M97U5 


3  2106  00061   3940 


